September To-Do’s:

Now that our area has had a few short glimpses of Fall weather, we know that it isn’t far off. Colonies will begin sealing things with more zest now that Summer is slowing down. You may find that bees are more defensive than before as we move closer to Winter. Keep your inspections short and to the point to prevent robbing, as now it will be in full swing. Consider reducing entrances to the smallest setting to ensure guard bees can patrol more effectively for “would-bee robbers”. Make sure to remove unpopulated boxes from hives to reduce the amount of space the bees must protect. As always, continue to monitor for pests and diseases, and act accordingly. Plan to complete your Fall varroa treatment by the end of the month as weather allows. Read your instructions carefully to ensure proper application and to prevent damaging queens or bees at such a critical time. 

Bee populations will be decreasing steadily as brood production slows down for the season. Now may be difficult to find a mated queen. Consider combining colonies with failing queens or small populations. The more bees you have in the hive, the more likely they are to survive the winter. Ensure that all brood is centrally located and, if possible, in the bottom box. Remember, the general rule for food stores is one full medium per colony. However, a well-stocked colony will have food stores completely filling the outermost frames (4 frames in a 10-frame box, 2 frames in an 8-frame box) of the brood chamber and throughout the others. They also need at least one frame with an adequate amount of pollen. If you find a colony without any pollen, or an extremely small amount, you may consider feeding a pollen substitute. 

If you are feeding colonies, you may continue with thin syrup at a 1:1 sugar to water ratio during the first few weeks of the month. Once we get toward the last week, or if the temperatures in your microclimate begin steadily decreasing, a thicker syrup at a 2:1 sugar to water ratio will be needed. This prevents excess moisture from being introduced into the hive and requires less energy to process for storage. You may also use a non-liquid feed such as hive patties or bee fondant.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are more than happy to help.