How do I prepare a beehive for autumn?
Autumn is about three things: mites down, stores up, and the nest made small. Treat for varroa as soon as the honey comes off, so the winter bees are raised on healthy brood. Feed thick syrup until the colony is heavy, remove empty boxes, fit a mouseguard, and make sure the roof cannot lift in a gale.
Step by step
- Thick syrup or fondant
- Mouseguard
- Approved varroa treatment
- Take the honey off, then treat for varroa immediately, so the long-lived winter bees are raised on brood that is not already damaged.
- Feed thick two-to-one syrup steadily until the hive is heavy when you heft it.
- Remove empty boxes so the colony only has the space it can heat and defend.
- Fit a mouseguard and reduce the entrance once night temperatures start dropping.
- Check the roof cannot lift in a gale and the hive tilts very slightly forward so rain runs out rather than pooling on the floor.
The full lesson
Autumn hive preparation: autumn preparation is the most critical period to ensure bees survive the winter cold safely and emerge strong in the spring. As a first step, hives are open to meticulously check the presence, health, and laying performance of the queen bee. Colonies too weak to survive the winter alone are combined with stronger hives using the newspaper
method. Empty and excess frames not covered by bees are removed from the hive to compress the colony into a tighter space. Beekeepers ensure there is an adequate stock of capped honey and pollen inside the hive for the bees to consume all winter. If stores are low, bees are fed a thick two-to-one sugar syrup or bee fondant candy to help them build up their winter food.
To protect the young generation of bees that will winter over, autumn varroa treatment after harvest is absolutely mandatory. Hive entrances are reduced to block cold winter winds and protect the colony from robbing wasps. cold doesn't kill bees. Moisture does. Therefore, moisture-absorbing cloths are placed under the cover
and ventilation is set. Hives are secured against strong winds and tilted slightly forward to prevent rainwater from leaking inside.
This lesson is also in the app, along with the other twenty-nine.
Next lessons
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1:40Lessons and forum answers describe beekeeping practice and peer experience, not veterinary guidance. Treatment thresholds, inspection timing and disease management vary by climate, subspecies and local regulation. Diseases that are notifiable where you live must be reported to your national bee inspectorate.