May Colony Management
1. Swarm Prevention: Provide enough drawn comb (Not foundation if possible) for queen to lay, either checker boarding in the brood nest or directly above where the queen is laying.
2. Weekly Inspection for Queen Cells: check the frames in the brood area for queen cups and swarm cells, usually located on the bottom of frames. Remove them if uncapped. If capped, split the hive giving each split 2-3 capped swarm cells.
3. Add Supers: add supers above the brood nest for foragers to deposit nectar. Prove an upper entrance for foragers. Set each super back 1/4 inch to allow foragers another access and to help drying of the honey.
4. Buy nuc equipment for splits: Immediately following the peak nectar flow is the best time to make splits to start making your nucs to overwinter. Reserve your CCBA June or July queen now.
Apprentice and Mentoring Programs
One of the best ways to learn how best to keep your bees alive is to work with someone who has done it over many seasons. The CCBA has 2 programs that are available to help you achieve sustainability.
The Apprentice Program
If you are a new beekeeper who is thinking about getting bees or who has not been able to overwinter a hive, the apprentice program maybe right for you. You will be paired up with an experienced beekeeper (teacher) who you will work with at the teacher's apiary bimonthly for an entire bee season. Upon satisfactory completion of the program, the apprentice will get a CCBA nuc the following spring. The cost for this program is $120.
The Mentoring Program
If you are looking for some intermittent advice from an experienced beekeeper, the mentoring program maybe right for you. Have someone who will answer your questions or may stop out at your apiary to see what is going on. This program does not have a cost and there is no incentives from the CCBA for participation.
Walt and Kathy are the leads of both the apprentice and the mentoring program. If you are interested in being either an apprentice or teacher in the apprentice program or mentor or mentee in the mentoring program.
Email Walt Talunas: wtalunas@gmail.com