Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association

By now it’s hot and dry and water is very, very necessary. The bees won’t have much, if anything in the way of nectar to find. The queen has greatly reduced the number of eggs she’s been laying. The pheromones in the hive have dropped and the vigor of the hive has plummeted since there is no nectar flow. This sets the hive up for opportunistic parasites such as mites and small hive beetles.

Water: Continue this important task!

Harvest: If you didn’t do it last month, harvest your honey now. Waiting any longer is not a good idea since your entire honey crop could be wasted if small hive beetles become an overwhelming problem.

Check your queen: You still need a good queen with a nice laying pattern. If your queen is failing, you’ll want to replace her before winter.

Share some honey: Now is a good time to bring your neighbors (those who already know about your bees) some of your harvest. A little honey goes a long way!

This is one of the hottest months and thus the most difficult for your bees. A lot of energy is being spent on keeping the hive cool. Water is imperative! The drones are getting kicked out now as the hive goes into conservative mode.

Feed: You should be feeding your bees a heavy syrup mixture.  You want them to have two full supers above their brood chamber going into the winter.

Continue to monitor for pests: Varroa mites and small hive beetles will be very bad now.

Check your queen: As the autumn months continue it will be harder and harder to find queens to purchase.

Pollen patties: If there has been a dearth of pollen, put some pollen patties on the hives. These go in the brood chamber resting on top of the frames. Place them on a small piece of wax paper in opposite corners of the hive. Monitor these to see how quickly they’re eaten and replace when necessary.