bees in autumn

Autumn work in the apiary is a responsible matter for any beekeeper. The first month of autumn in beekeeping is the period when the collection of honey in the apiary is already over, and the insects are completing their work. From this moment, work should begin on preparing for the winter. Many novice beekeepers are not yet fully aware of what manipulations should be carried out with bees and hives in the autumn season.

What do bees do in autumn

For most bee colonies living in the apiary, the autumn period begins at the end of summer. The exact date will depend on the area in which the apiary is located and the type of crops the bees work with. In autumn, the behavior of bees and the structure of the hive changes significantly. The following changes in the apiary can be distinguished:

• The bees continue to work on collecting the last nectar. At the same moment, the economy of food supplies begins;
• Drones are expelled from the bee colony. This is because the swarming process is already over and drones are no longer needed;
• In autumn, the center of the frames is freed for new larvae, and the main reserves of honey move to the upper part of the frames;
• The process of laying offspring by the uterus slows down significantly;
• In order to avoid theft of stocks from other families living in the apiary, the bees increase the number of guards, while reducing the size of the notch.

In the autumn season, the population of the apiary also decreases, and some of its individuals get increased fatigue. During the period of honey collection, many individuals died, and some of those that remained will not be able to survive the winter. All the hope of the family rests on the new generation of bees, on which the strength of the entire swarm will depend. This process must be monitored and regulated by the beekeeper. Autumn work can prevent the mass extinction of bees in the apiary from various diseases and parasites.

Work in the apiary in autumn              

Autumn care for insects such as bees is quite painstaking work, since a whole range of activities must be completed. First of all, you should successfully complete the period of honey collection. After that, work begins to prepare the bees and the hive for winter.

The autumn period for bees lasts from September 1 to October 15. During this time, the following processes must be carried out:

• From September 5 to September 10, autumn top dressing is performed. Further use of sugar syrup may adversely affect the bees’ ability to survive the winter. If there are no natural pollen-bearing plants, autumn protein feeding is required;
• On September 10, there should be no drones in bee colonies;
• September 12 is considered the time when the last young of the family appear;
• From about September 14, the flowering of crops ends, with the help of which bees can make a reserve for the winter;
• September 15 is considered the day when the brood is almost over. During this period, it is required to carry out an autumn revision and do work on assembling a nest for bees;
• In the period from September 16 to September 30, work on the treatment of bees begins;
• From September 25, bees switch to a winter mode of life;
• Approximately at the beginning of October, insects perform the last flight around the territory of the apiary, and after that the bees have a flight-free period, the duration of which can be up to six months.

Autumn revision of bee colonies

The autumn audit is an extremely responsible work for every beekeeper, which makes it possible to regulate the following processes in the apiary:

• Availability and quality of food prepared for the winter;
• Arrangement of a hive for a comfortable wintering of bees;
• Carrying out an assessment of the population of the hive, and its regulation;
• Cleaning, as well as medical and sanitary treatment of individuals and their dwellings;
• Assembling a nest for wintering.

The number of surviving bees in the apiary after the winter, as well as the strength of the family, will depend on the successful and timely completion of all tasks in the autumn period. Working with bees in autumn significantly affects the amount of honey that can be collected for the next season.

Autumn work with bees

Quite an important stage of work with insects in the apiary in the autumn is the culling of the bee colony. The number of colonies that remain overwinter directly affects the amount of food needed for distribution to bees. It is undesirable to skip autumn culling, since insects make a food supply for the winter from food, and if the colony is weak, it will be more difficult for the bees to provide for the entire swarm. If it is necessary to transplant a colony of bees to another hive in autumn, this work should be done in advance, since the bees need to settle in a new place, and this will be very difficult to do in a short period of time.

Autumn culling should be performed in the following cases:

• Presence of weak families. In this case, the two colonies need to be united or settled with stronger families;
• The low productivity of an individual family. The cause of this problem is most often a weak queen that cannot produce enough brood. In such a situation, the main task is to maintain the desired number of individuals in the family. Here you need to decide whether another queen will help increase the number of insects in the colony, or whether it will be necessary to transplant the swarm to a stronger colony;
• The presence of sick individuals. If the disease is not noticed in time, it can progress rapidly. There are frequent cases when it is necessary to destroy the entire sick family in order to save the entire bee farm from infection;
•  The presence of a large number of drones in the colony. Insects often regulate the number of drones on their own. If there are many of them in the family, then next season the bees will collect little nectar. A large number of drones will entail a weakening of the whole family, since insects will eat a lot of food in winter.

How to form a nest in autumn

The work on nest formation is one of the most important tasks in the autumn period. Ideally, the bees should create nests on their own, and the beekeeper should only control this process.

Strong bee colonies spend the winter in 8 – 12 frames. For this process, it is better to use a two-way nesting method. Frames with the smallest amount of honey (2 – 3 kilograms) should be placed in the center, and with the largest amount (4 or more) – at the edges.

For medium colonies, it is recommended to use the angular method. The most honey-filled frame should be on the edge. As you approach the center, the amount of honey in the frames should decrease.

If the family is weak, it is better to use the “beard” method, where the frames with the largest amount of honey are concentrated in the center. In this case, the total supply of feed should be about 16 kilograms.

Feed placement

One of the best food supplies is sealed flower honey. The number of completely filled frames with honey depends on the size of the colony. If the design of the hives is multi-hull, then the food should be placed on top, since the bees are located below. In sunbeds, frames with honey are placed around the edges.

If a one-sided placement method is used, then a heavy frame should be installed on the edge, the weight of which is 3 – 3,5 kg. Two or three more combs of 1,5 – 1,8 kg should be placed opposite the notch. Then there are frames weighing from 2 kg.

The approximate amount of food that you need to stock up for the winter:

• For a strong nest – 16 – 18 kilograms (10 – 12 frames);
• Medium nest – 15 – 16 kilograms (7 -9 frames);
• Multi-hull hives – up to 30 kilograms per housing.

When to close the lower notch in the fall

The experience of many beekeepers shows that when working with bees there is no need to close the lower notch. This recommendation works if a strong colony lives in the hive. An open notch allows insects to better survive the winter.

Preventive work in the apiary in the autumn

When working in an apiary, it is not recommended to forget about preventive procedures that can save the entire colony of bees and prevent insects from flying off in the fall, which can occur due to inconvenience when living in a hive.

Uncomfortable conditions can lead to diseases in the apiary, due to which insects will die. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to treat varroatosis, ticks, and other diseases.

The most popular drugs are:

• Amipol;
• Beep;
• Polisan.

In order to successfully implement prophylaxis for bees in the fall, a certain sequence of actions is required. First of all, the content of any drug should be diluted with two liters of water. To perform the procedure, a special sprayer or syringe is used.

All activities in the apiary should be completed before the insects begin to gather in the club. This is due to the fact that treatment during this period can lead to the death of the uterus. The best time to perform the procedure is considered to be the time after the release of the brood, as well as the flight by young individuals. During such a period, insects normally tolerate chemical treatment. To combat infectious diseases, it is better to mix the remedy with top dressing, and then give it to the bees.

Work in the apiary in October

In order for insects to successfully survive the cold, it is necessary to prepare a winter hut for them. First of all, it must be carefully dried, as well as adjust the ventilation system. Even in the summer, it is necessary to remove the door from the winter hut, open the hatch and all the ventilation pipes. All cracks in this design must be carefully sealed. If the winter hut is of an above-ground or semi-underground type, it is necessary to equip an external backfill.

A few days before placing the hives in the winter hut, it must be heated with an iron stove and smoked with sulfur. In this case, the following calculation should be applied: 30 grams per 1 cubic meter of space. After the completion of this work, the winter hut is closed for a day. A day later, the walls and ceiling must be swept with a stiff brush.

When preparing an apiary for wintering, it is necessary to think about protecting housing for bees from mice. The insulation of the hives is also important. Insect houses should be well protected from frost, wind and animals. For such purposes, various boxes, shields and barriers are suitable. If the bees will spend the winter indoors, it is necessary to build a omshanik. To do this, it is necessary to dry the moss and make a thick carpet of straw, dry reeds or sedges.

When work in the apiary ends

All work in the apiary must be completed by the end of October. Houses for bees should be warm, and all doors should be closed.

Conclusion

Autumn work in the apiary requires constant attention and control. The main thing that beekeepers need to do in the autumn is to prepare houses for bees and insects themselves for wintering.