Utilizing a usually cryptic title – Beekeeping backups – I lately defined why I believed three colonies supplied a newbie with the leeway to get issues fallacious, extra alternatives to get issues proper and, importantly, to be taught extra and quicker within the course of.

Not three from the ‘get go’.

Do not go shopping for three of the overwintered nucs I noticed marketed as we speak at an eye-watering £300 every 😱. For those who’ve additionally purchased the required hives, protecting gear, instruments and smoker, along with all the opposite pointless gadgets marketed within the catalogues, you may be each heartbroken and broke if all of them swarm early, after which it rains for the remainder of the summer season.

However three colonies by the top of your second yr is an inexpensive goal, and one that may be achieved by splitting one colony and/or setting out a few bait hives.

However what occurs in your third yr, or your fourth or fifth? Are you going to permit hive numbers to extend additional, or is there a degree the place you suppose “Sufficient!”

Through which case, how do you cease increasing your hive numbers?

Though some learners would possibly suppose it is a mixture of witchcraft and outrageous success, it does not take all that a few years of expertise to have the ability to rear tons extra bees, virtually with out effort.

The candy spot

All of us lead busy lives {{1}} and beekeeping ought to be a pleasure, not a chore.

It is alleged to be an entertaining diversion that gives a number of jars of honey for gifting or sale, along with the pleasure of working with the bees to provide it.

After all, diversions will be of various sizes, and ‘few’ is a relative, not absolute, time period. Compared to some beekeepers, I produce comparatively small quantities of honey, however I nonetheless appear to get by means of a pallet-load of jars rapidly.

For honey manufacturing, queen rearing, curiosity and ‘dabbling’ with beekeeping strategies, I’ve discovered that ~20 colonies is an effective quantity for me. Greater than that and I wrestle to maintain up. Fewer, and I would lament not having the ability to make up some further nucs, or examine another queen rearing methodology in our all-too-short summers.

However, for others, 3, or 13, or 1300 colonies is essentially the most they need. What do they do as soon as they’ve reached the ‘candy spot’ and don’t need their interest turning into a chore?

I am not going to write down something about getting, managing or protecting 1300 colonies. I am impressed with the dedication and exhausting work of those who do, and I am unable to consider a quicker strategy to destroy my enjoyment of bees and beekeeping … or my again.

The early years

A minimum of a few of what follows is partially autobiographical, however it additionally comes from observing a variety of new beekeepers coaching with associations and taking their first tentative steps to turning into impartial.

Many beekeepers begin with the perfect of intentions, make investments closely – each money and time – however then endure disappointment after disappointment.

Their first colony swarms, takes ages to requeen, goes into the winter weak and succumbs throughout a chilly spell in February.

Alternatively, the colony goes into the winter wanting robust however, as a consequence of mistimed miticide functions, the winter bees die off quick and, by early January, all of the beekeeper has are fading recollections and an empty hive.

Or maybe the climate is simply relentlessly garbage.

They’re pouring syrup into the hives when they need to be harvesting kilograms of golden honey. After which the autumn equinoctial gales arrive and it is throughout for one more yr.

That was the 2023 summer season for me … although I had the compensation of a fantastic spring crop and a few fabulous heather honey from my bees on the West Coast.

If a newbie is unfortunate sufficient to endure a mixture of those disappointments, then beekeeping can appear much more hassle than it is value.

Many quietly quit.

There is a very excessive ‘churn’ of novice beekeepers; they prepare through the winter, have one or two poor seasons after which take up one thing apparently much less difficult, like fixing the black gap info paradox.

Nevertheless it’s not all the time like that

If their inevitable clumsiness, the climate gods and the myriad of different issues that can go fallacious, don’t conspire to smash issues, then issues can be very totally different.

Sure, colonies are misplaced within the first winter or two (1w, 2w) as they familiarize yourself with the timing and coverings vital to manage mites and viruses within the colonies.

However, within the good – or at the very least cheap {{2}} – summer season (2s) they rapidly get the cling of exploiting the necessity for swarm management to make up these losses.

And there’s success – creating in equal quantities of amazement and pleasure – with a bait hive. They even should borrow half a dozen supers from their mentor through the summer season nectar bonanza.

Within the third yr issues go a bit of loopy.

Once more there’s summer season success (3s) with a bait hive or two, however some queen cells are missed, ensuing within the lack of a swarm and a few casts, all of that are ultimately recaptured within the skep they received for Christmas. Hive numbers ‘develop like Topsy’ {{3}} and planter trays are being pressed into service as hive roofs, with stacked supers as brood packing containers.

This beekeeping lark is straightforward.

However the next winter (3w) is carnage. A mixture of missed Varroa remedies as a result of work commitments, poorly mated queens and too many undersized colonies imply many hives are misplaced.

It is an necessary and sobering lesson.

In beekeeping, as in simpler occupations like developmental psychology, astronomy and engineering, the Goldilocks precept applies … there’s a ‘correct quantity’ of one thing (in our case, colonies). The quantity will differ between beekeepers, and may also differ for the similar beekeeper as they become older, or have extra time, or get extra/much less .

Years 4, 5 and 6 and so on.

That roller-coaster trip within the first few years of beekeeping, the annual growth and bust, not solely taught you (or me, because it was vaguely autobiographical) what number of colonies may comfortably and successfully managed … it additionally taught the strategies that had been wanted to handle them.

By comparability, these later years at the moment are extra sedate (although, once more, these items are relative).

Colony losses overwinter are negligible and largely as a result of elements outdoors your management – like a poorly mated queen, or a falling tree. The growth of colony numbers in the summertime is tempered by the necessity to maintain robust colonies collectively to maximise the honey crop and forestall losses from robbing.

There’s nonetheless a variety of work to do, however – maybe apart from the heavy lifting through the honey harvest – you are able to do it comfortably and successfully. You may develop colony numbers kind of as wanted, and you know the way to minimise your losses.

No extra growth and bust.

And, importantly, it is nonetheless fulfilling.

In actual fact, if something, it is extra fulfilling 😃.

Staying in that candy spot

Regardless of the quantity, sustaining colony numbers entails a mixture of:

• minimising avoidable losses, and
• decreasing pointless growth

I am going to cope with them in that order.

I intentionally use the phrases avoidable and pointless.

Some losses are unavoidable. They may not occur yearly, however once they do, you may must develop colony numbers to compensate for the loss.

In actual fact, it is smart to put together for a small proportion of losses by having spares already obtainable. You could possibly think about this as vital growth.

An insurance coverage coverage.

As well as, as a result of robust colonies – that are precisely what you ought to be aiming to maintain – will in all probability attempt to develop themselves (i.e. reproduce/swarm) within the Spring or Summer season, there’ll in all probability be some vital short-term growth to accommodate this, slightly than dropping swarms.

Losses

Losses can happen at any time of the season however predominantly happen overwinter.

For those who have a look at the COLOSS winter surveys, they broadly fall into three classes; illness, queen failure and pure disasters.

Avoidable losses

Of those, the primary (illness) is basically avoidable with rational Varroa management. I’ve written extensively about this matter on this website, and so do not intend to rehash issues right here. Not solely would I largely be repeating myself, however it’s additionally probably not an applicable time of the season to be discussing issues that are most related in late summer season and early winter.

Nevertheless, though Varroa management would possibly predominantly be wanted within the latter elements of the season {{4}}, Varroa vigilance is required on a regular basis.

Monitor mite drop periodically, test phoretic mite ranges {{5}} and maintain an in depth lookout for bees exhibiting deformed wing virus signs.

If mite ranges are excessive, deploy some applicable midseason mite administration, or think about combining a shook swarm with miticide remedy. Each will be extraordinarily efficient.

Through the summer season, colonies could also be misplaced as a result of robbing by wasps or different bees. These losses are in all probability all avoidable should you preserve robust colonies {{6}}.

For those who minimise avoidable losses you cut back the necessity to subsequently develop colony numbers, so damping down the growth and bust fluctuations.

Unavoidable losses

Queen failures and pure disasters will not be essentially unavoidable. If the queen is getting on, say 2-3+ years, she’s extra more likely to fail. Equally, siting your hives in an space inclined to flooding is a recipe for catastrophe.

I do not know methods to spot poorly mated queens (earlier than the plain absence of brood, or clustered drone brood in employee cells), however would possibly suspect issues if the queens had been mated very late within the season, or throughout a interval of very poor climate.

However, primarily, these items are outdoors your management.

As they are saying, stuff occurs.

Enlargement to interchange misplaced colonies

You probably have any losses, you will have to interchange them in case your total colony numbers are to stay the identical {{7}}.

You are able to do this retrospectively, the next season, by splitting a colony and/or not reuniting colonies after swarm management.

Alternatively, and maybe higher, you may prospectively overwinter a nucleus colony which will be promoted to a full hive if wanted.

If it is wanted, it is prepared to make use of properly earlier than you may be doing any swarm management or splits. You could even get a crop of honey from it.

And, if you do not want it, someone else will (see beneath).

The UK and US common overwinter colony loss is reportedly within the 20-30% area. With well timed and applicable Varroa management, it ought to be not more than 5-10%.

However, since you can not lose 10% of a single hive overwinter {{8}} it is smart to arrange a nuc ‘simply in case’.

I all the time attempt to overwinter a number of nucs (~20% this yr), and they’re all the time helpful.

For those who’ve not watched Michael Palmer’s Sustainable Apiary then I extremely suggest it.

Enlargement through the season

Through the spring and summer season season, should you’ve reached the ‘candy spot’ and do not wish to make enhance, the growth of colony numbers is all to do with swarming.

Swarm management

The vast majority of swarm management strategies contain separating the queen (with adequate bees to keep up her) from the younger bees, open brood and creating queen cells. As soon as there’s a new laying queen the 2 elements of the unique colony will be reunited once more (after eradicating the previous queen first!). You find yourself with a single, robust, colony prepared for the summer season nectar movement.

The Pagden methodology, vertical break up and nucleus methodology can all be used like this, with the colonies subsequently reunited. Of those, the Pagden and vertical break up have the benefit of being in suitable packing containers, with the vertical break up having the further benefit of already being underneath the identical roof.

Nevertheless, as with most issues in beekeeping, there’s multiple strategy to do it.

As an alternative choice to the box-juggling concerned in doing these types of swarm management, you possibly can ‘merely’ requeen the colony. This after all depends on you having spare queens obtainable, which to some appears something however easy. Hooper describes the method in his Information to Bees and Honey e-book.

Primarily you establish a colony intent on swarming, take away the previous queen, make up a nuc from it to which you add a brand new queen, after which – as soon as the brand new queen is accepted – re-unite the nuc with the colony {{9}}.

The colony will get a younger pheromone-laden queen, the swarming impulse is suppressed and all ought to be good till the next yr.

Swarm prevention

You might be able to maintain a colony again and forestall swarming through the use of the Demaree methodology, with out rising hive numbers. That is variously described as a swarm prevention or swarm management methodology.

Earlier than the onset of queen cell manufacturing (although it will also be utilized after they’re began, although – pedantically – this isn’t a real Demaree) the colony is break up, with the queen and a body or two of sealed brood beneath an excluder, above which all of the open brood is positioned.

It is nonetheless one colony, simply twice the peak it was earlier than 😉.

The queen continues laying, and the beekeeper intervenes to take away the emergency cells which might be virtually all the time produced within the high field. After 7-10 days the excluder will be eliminated, although some repeat all the course of till the swarming impulse is over.

It is an interesting methodology as a result of it retains the employees collectively and so doesn’t interrupt the nectar assortment.

Nevertheless, it does not permit substitute of the queen (with the advantages that brings by way of potential inventory enchancment and elevated winter bee manufacturing) and you may find yourself with a variety of (typically lifeless) drones above the excluder. For these causes, I am not a giant fan of the Demaree methodology.

You may obtain one thing very related utilizing a Snelgrove board {{Which US beekeepers seem to name a ‘double screened board’, although these I’ve bought within the UK appear to have solely a single piece of mesh centrally.}} which presents the benefit of permitting an higher entrance for the drones to fly from.

As is perhaps anticipated from the a number of ‘gates’ on the Snelgrove board, it is a very versatile piece of kit … so long as you retain good information and keep in mind the order and timing of opening and shutting the gates.

And have a greater reminiscence than me 😞.

Choose one methodology …

With any of those swarm prevention and management strategies, confidence and familiarity play a giant half in there profitable utility.

For those who use a technique sufficient to know its foibles, strengths and weaknesses, you might be extra seemingly to make use of it efficiently.

The other of divide and conquer

If swarm management entails a ‘divide and conquer’ technique, the upkeep of by no means-increasing hive numbers relies upon upon correct uniting of colonies.

For those who do not, you are again in Topsy territory.

Uniting colonies is a fast and easy bodily course of, the success of which relies upon upon the gradual intermixing of colonies which ‘odor’ in another way as a result of their cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles.

Classically, the velocity at which the 2 colonies are allowed to combine is managed by two sheets of the Monetary Instances (different high quality newspapers will do, however I’ve it on good authority that the Day by day Mail is wholly unsuitable {{10}}).

I do not suppose it makes a distinction whether or not the higher or decrease field (of the colonies being united) accommodates the brand new queen – so long as she’s the solely queen current – however I all the time place the moved field on the highest. I need the relocated bees to remember that issues have modified by forcing them by means of the decrease hive to get to the doorway. I believe this ends in fewer foragers returning to the – now vacant – website the moved field occupied.

You may unite a nuc and a full sized hive in the identical manner, having transferred the nuc to a spare brood field.

Air freshener

Alternatively, you may make sure the gradual mixing of various CHC pongs by masking them with a squirt or two of an inexpensive and cheerful air freshener.

A fast spray excessive bars of the decrease field, and the identical over the underside bars of the moved colony and, hey presto, you are completed.

I do know the commercials do that with a whole bunch of hives. I’ve not, however I’ve by no means had it fail with these I have used it for.

Bear in mind, the CHC profile is colony-specific and considerably influenced by microorganisms within the intestine of the bee.

You’re what you eat

The science of identification – how guard bees recognise nestmates, why drifting bees are accepted into different hives and why robbers are solely typically rejected.

For those who managed swarming by eradicating the previous queen (and any queen cells) after which requeened a nuc derived from the colony (see above), you may merely add this again to the queenless parental hive. Within the week or so the bees could have been separated, the CHC profile is not going to have considerably altered – there’s not but any new brood within the field from the launched queen – and the nuc ought to be accepted with out difficulty.

Different methods of not rising colony numbers

While stopping colony losses and short-term splits, coupled with immediate uniting, are the major means to maintain inside your Goldilocks zone, there are different methods of controlling the numbers of packing containers within the apiary.

Swarms

It is commonplace to be requested to recuperate bivouacked swarms, though they – clearly! – aren’t from your personal colonies {{11}}.

After a chronic interval of poor late Spring climate, a few good days may end up in a swarmtastic time … or absolute hell, relying upon your perspective. If the swarms are small, and more likely to be casts (with an unmated queen), you may simply dump all of them into the identical field and let the bees type all the things out.

The employees are predominantly younger in order that they’ll combine properly (see the ‘You’re what you eat’ reference above why that is the case) and you’ll find yourself with one bigger colony containing one queen. That is a much more wise final result than half a dozen packing containers all ready for queens to get mated … after which what? But extra bees you may not need.

Or you possibly can simply refuse to gather the bivvied swarm … although doing so virtually definitely seals its destiny.

Most swarms don’t survive.

Promoting the excess

For those who overwinter nucs (and you do not want them as a result of your Varroa management is top-notch) there’s virtually all the time a marketplace for them the next Spring.

They’re obtainable at the very least a month earlier than new season nucs might be obtainable (until these have been made up with a very a lot not native queen from Greece), have already demonstrated their high quality by overwintering properly, and may promote at a premium.

Although, should you’re promoting them regionally, for instance to learners out of your affiliation’s Begin beekeeping course, then I would recommend not asking £300. Some associations have set or really useful costs – say £25-30 a body – and this makes all the promoting and buying course of a bit simpler.

I do know some beekeepers promote swarms. Personally, I believe that is very poor follow … the bees are basically an unknown amount. They is perhaps good, however often they’re garbage; wholly unsuitable for an skilled beekeeper, not to mention a newbie.

Demand for bees is excessive earlier than the swarming season and far decrease afterwards. That is one other compelling motive to overwinter nucs (and rear queens out of your chosen inventory for subsequent overwintering).

An inexact science

Some fluctuation in colony numbers is inevitable; stuff occurs, queens fail to get mated, your tried and trusted ‘infallible’ swarm management fails, or your queen rearing goes a lot higher than anticipated.

However, by specializing in the fundamentals – minimising losses and pointless growth – you may normally keep inside a comparatively slim, and really manageable, vary of hive numbers round your chosen ‘candy spot’.

I am going to attempt to keep in mind to re-read this earlier than late July after I (once more) run out of brood packing containers.

Do as I say, not as I do.

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Notes

This matter was steered by Doug who has two colonies and an overwintered nuc, however is aiming for not more than 6 colonies. Thanks for the espresso Doug 👍.

{{1}}: Effectively, you do. Mine is so much much less busy than it was.

{{2}}: Let’s maintain this vaguely life like.

{{3}}: To develop very quick, notably in an uncontrolled manner. Topsy was a personality within the 1851 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

{{4}}: With apologies for my readers within the Antipodes who’re simply approaching this era. With 75-80% of the readership within the Northern Hemisphere, I’ve to write down for almost all or issues cease making sense. Or make even much less sense.

{{5}}: Which I am going to cowl quickly after it is heat sufficient to really do any beekeeping.

{{6}}: I concern I could should replace this paragraph if Asian hornet numbers proceed to extend within the UK.

{{7}}: ‘Obvs’ as my 7 yr previous daughter would have stated sarcastically with exaggerated rolling of her eyes.

{{8}}: Like you may’t be a bit of bit pregnant.

{{9}}: Do not simply comply with these transient directions – learn Hooper for the small print.

{{10}}: On so many ranges.

{{11}}: How may they be? Your swarm management is infallible … and your queens are clipped.