A beekeeper, or apiarist, is responsible for managing honey bee colonies. This work combines agricultural practices, animal husbandry, and an understanding of the local environment. The goal is to ensure colonies are healthy and productive, allowing them to pollinate plants and produce honey. Beekeepers support the natural life cycle of their bees while protecting them from various threats.
The Seasonal Responsibilities of a Beekeeper
Spring Tasks
As winter recedes, the beekeeper’s year begins. The first spring inspections assess the colony’s survival and strength. A beekeeper checks that the queen bee is laying eggs in a healthy pattern, a sign of colony growth. If food stores are low, the beekeeper provides supplemental feeding with sugar syrup to fuel the colony’s expansion.
A primary focus is swarm management. As the bee population expands, their instinct is to split the colony. To prevent losing bees, a beekeeper may “split” the hive by moving the old queen and some bees to a new box, mimicking the swarming process and increasing the number of managed colonies.
Summer Tasks
Summer is the peak activity period for bees and beekeepers, centered around the main nectar flow. The beekeeper’s job is to ensure the bees have enough space to store incoming nectar by adding boxes called “supers” to the hive. Without this extra room, bees run out of storage space, which can halt honey production and encourage swarming.
Constant monitoring for pests and diseases is necessary, as warm weather accelerates their spread. Proper ventilation is another concern, so beekeepers may prop the lid open or create an upper entrance to help regulate the hive’s temperature.
Autumn Tasks
As the nectar flow subsides in autumn, the focus shifts to preparing the colony for winter. This season involves the final honey harvest. A beekeeper must decide how much honey to take, ensuring enough stores are left for the bees. A hive needs between 60 and 90 pounds of honey to survive winter.
This is also the time to treat for pests like the Varroa destructor mite. After harvesting, beekeepers reduce the hive’s entrance size to help the colony defend itself against robbing from other bees or wasps.
Winter Tasks
Winter is the quietest season for hive-side work, but duties continue away from the apiary. This period is for maintaining, repairing, and building new hive equipment for the coming year. Beekeepers spend these months cleaning frames, building hive boxes, and preparing tools for spring.
Direct hive inspections are rare to avoid chilling the bees, but quick checks on warmer days ensure the entrance is clear for ventilation. Many use this downtime for continuing education by reading literature or attending club meetings to share knowledge. This preparation is foundational for the upcoming season’s success.
Managing Hive Health and Threats
A beekeeper’s role extends beyond seasonal routines to active health management. The most persistent threat is the Varroa destructor mite. This external parasite attaches to bees, weakens them by feeding on their fatty tissues, and transmits harmful viruses.
Other pests also pose a risk. Wax moths can invade weak hives and destroy honeycomb, while small hive beetles can overwhelm a colony, causing honey to ferment and the bees to abandon the hive. Beekeepers must also be vigilant for diseases like American Foulbrood, a contagious bacterial infection that requires burning infected equipment to prevent its spread.
Beekeepers also manage external challenges. Pesticide exposure from agricultural areas can be lethal to foraging bees, requiring careful apiary location and communication with farmers. A lack of diverse forage can also stress a colony, limiting its ability to gather resources.
Harvesting and Processing Bee Products
Harvesting honey is a beekeeper’s most recognized task. After removing frames of capped honey, the beekeeper uses a heated knife or scraper to slice off the protective beeswax cappings. The uncapped frames are placed in a honey extractor, a machine using centrifugal force to spin the honey out of the comb without destroying it.
Once extracted, the raw honey is strained to remove wax and other debris. It is then left in a tank to allow air bubbles to rise before it is bottled.
A resourceful beekeeper harvests more than just honey. The beeswax cappings are a valuable product and can be melted and filtered to create candles, cosmetics, or wood polish. Some beekeepers also use special traps to collect pollen and propolis, a resinous substance bees create, which are sold for their nutritional and medicinal properties.
Different Types of Beekeepers
The term “beekeeper” includes individuals with different motivations and scales of operation. The majority are hobbyists who manage a small number of hives, often in their backyard. Their motivation is for enjoyment, to pollinate their garden, or to produce honey for personal use.
A step above the hobbyist is the sideliner, who manages dozens of hives to supplement their primary income. They produce enough honey and other hive products to sell at local markets.
At the largest scale are commercial beekeepers, who manage hundreds or thousands of hives as their primary business. These operations often involve transporting bees across the country to pollinate commercial crops like almonds, blueberries, and melons. While honey production is a major part of their business, pollination services are a significant source of revenue.
Essential Skills and Qualities for Beekeeping
Successful beekeeping demands specific personal attributes beyond following a seasonal calendar. These include:
- Keen observation to “read” a colony by interpreting the sounds, smells, and behaviors of the bees to assess its health.
- A calm and patient demeanor, as hasty movements can provoke a defensive response from the bees, making inspections difficult.
- Physical strength to lift hive boxes that can weigh over 75 pounds.
- Adaptability and problem-solving skills to deal with pest infestations, equipment failure, or unexpected weather.
The ability to remain steady and deliberate defines an effective beekeeper. Being able to diagnose issues and implement solutions is a constant requirement.