10-18-2021 Planning Commission Packet

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To Cork or Not to Cork, That is the Question • Whenever I was talking management with the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers ►. Association, Tom would always raise his hand and ask "Gary, what do we do with the corks?" The other question was, "Why drill a hole if you are just going to cork it up?" Words of The main reason to drill the hole in the box is to give the colony an upper entrance in the top box for winter. Since we never know for sure which box will Wisdom be on top for winter we put holes in all the boxes. It seems the bees "enjoy" the holes in the other boxes during the summer but we do not want the lower holes open in winter because mice can enter them. For winter, the hole in the top box should be open and the remainder of the holes should have corks. For spring and summer the holes can be left open unless: 1) the bees are not occupying the box, or 2) the frames in the box contain foundation without beeswax comb. If in doubt, leave the corks in the holes in spring and summer. Inspections from late summer through fall Here is your checklist for summer and fall inspections: • Look for worker eggs, larvae, and pupae. You do not need to see the queen if you see worker eggs. Remember, you can differentiate between eggs that will be workers and those that will be drones by the size of the wax cells; drone eggs are laid in slightly larger cells. • Assess the quantity of stored pollen and honey. There should be pollen stored on the edges of the brood nest. If no pollen is stored in the height of summer, then the area probably has very poor floral resources. The colony should have lots of honey stored by the height of summer, far above the minimum of two frames of honey. If this is not the case, feed 2:1 sugar syrup. Summer colonies should be heavy with food stores, or they will not be prepared to survive winter. • Look for queen cells, but leave the cells alone. The bees know more than the beekeeper about why they might need a new queen; trust them. • Look for the presence of adult drones and drone brood. As in spring, be on the lookout for an excess of drones. After the main honey flow and as fall approaches, fewer drones will be produced. In late fall, the remaining drones will be kicked out of the colony by the worker bees. • Check to see if the bees have enough room to grow. You should add hive bodies when the current top box is 80% filled and occupied with bees. If you find nectar stored in the brood nest area, it is a sure sign that your bees are too crowded and the queen has run out of space to lay eggs. Ensuring your bees have ample space during nectar flows is essential to avoid late season swarming. Once your bees have filled the three deeps, you can begin adding supers as described below. • Monitor your colony for varroa mites each month to assess their population growth. Consult your Disease and Pest manual for mite population thresholds and methods to keep their populations below • threshold. Beekeeping in Northern Climates 43