Beekeeping and Pollination

A colony is a superorganism with three castes: (1) Queen (one per colony)—lays eggs (up to 2,000/day), produces pheromones that control colony behavior; lives 3-5 years, (2) Workers (20,000-60,000 per colony)—all females, perform all tasks (nursing, building comb, foraging, guarding); live 6 weeks in summer (burned out), 4-6 months in winter, (3) Drones (males, 100-1,000 in season)—only role is mating with queens; are expelled in fall to prevent resource waste. Colony needs good genetics (productive queen), adequate population (enough workers to maintain brood and forage), and health (no diseases, pests controlled). A weak colony (sick queen, high disease, low population) dies out; strong colonies build up and split in spring.

Spring/summer inspections (weekly during active season): (1) Open hive (smoke bottom entrance gently to calm bees), (2) Examine frames one-by-one, looking for: (a) Brood pattern (eggs, larvae, pupae in organized pattern—random or spotty pattern indicates disease), (b) Bee population (multiple frames of capped brood = growing population, few frames = weak colony), (c) Food stores (pollen and honey in frames—if none, colony may starve), (d) Pests—varroa mites (reddish-brown mites on pupae), hive beetles (small black insects), wax moths (white larval trails). (3) Listen for the hum (healthy hive hums; queenless hives sound agitated). (4) Note date and findings in a log. Inspections take 20-30 minutes per hive and should be done in warm weather (bees less defensive, can more quickly regroup).

Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite that feeds on bee hemolymph (blood), weakens individual bees, and vectors deadly viruses (deformed wing virus, acute bee paralysis). A single infested hive can collapse in 1-3 years if untreated. Management: (1) Regular monitoring (use a sticky board under the hive—count mites weekly; threshold is ~10 mites/day indicating high infestation), (2) Treatment options: organic (powdered sugar dusting, essential oil strips), conventional (amitraz, coumaphos—check labels for honey-producing hives), or biological (removing drone brood, hygienic queen selection), (3) Timing: treat before winter to reduce overwinter mite load. Many beekeepers treat in late summer/early fall to ensure strong winter colonies. Do not skip varroa management; it is the #1 killer of colonies.

Supplement feeding: (1) Spring feeding (early spring when stores are depleted from winter, before major bloom)—use sugar syrup (1:1 sugar:water ratio for spring/fall, 2:1 for emergency feeding), provide in a jar feeder or hive-top feeder; bees consume this and build brood, (2) Fall feeding (late summer through fall, after honey harvest, to rebuild stores for winter)—use 2:1 sugar:water; this reduces mold/fermentation compared to thinner syrup. (3) Pollen supplementation (if pollen is scarce)—use pollen substitute patties or allow hive to forage on wildflowers. Feeding stimulates brood rearing; too much stimulates more than the colony can support, especially in fall. Best practice: allow hives 60-80 lbs of honey stores for winter (varies by region and climate); this is more reliable than relying on spring feeding.

Swarming is a natural colony reproduction behavior: when a hive feels crowded or ages, workers construct queen cells (special enlarged brood cells), a new queen develops, and when she emerges, ~50% of the colony leaves with the old queen (the swarm) to find a new home. Beekeepers usually want to prevent swarming (loss of foragers, lost productivity) but sometimes allow it (controlled increase in colony number). Prevention: (1) Provide adequate space (add supers/boxes before the hive gets too crowded), (2) Ensure young, productive queen (old queens swarm more), (3) Reduce congestion by opening entrances. Management if swarms happen: (1) Catch the swarm (it usually lands on a nearby branch; hive it quickly in a box), (2) Perform controlled splits (divide colony into two before they swarm; reintroduce new queen). Swarms are not aggressive (no brood to defend) and are excellent requeening material; professional beekeepers sometimes encourage controlled swarming to increase colony number cheaply.

Timing: harvest only surplus honey (leave 60-80 lbs for the colony to survive winter). Use a honey refractometer (measure water content; target <17.6%) to assess maturity. Frames are ready when >75% of the frame surface is capped (wax seal over cells). Typical harvest: late summer after major bloom (August-September in temperate areas) when brood is minimal and food needs are reduced. Method: (1) Smoke hive gently, brush bees off frames, (2) Place frames in an extractor (centrifuge), spin to extract honey, (3) Strain honey (remove wax caps, debris), (4) Let settle in buckets (1-2 days) to remove air, (5) Bottle and label. Timing is critical: harvest too early and honey is watery (ferments), too late and brood area is disrupted. Extraction day is labor-intensive; many beekeepers extract in batches or rent shared equipment.

Pollination service is providing colonies near crops (almonds, cucumbers, melons, blueberries, etc.) to pollinate flowers and increase fruit set. Beekeepers contract with growers: the beekeeper provides hives at key bloom periods, the grower pays per hive per season (typically $50-150/hive depending on crop and region; almonds pay $180-250/hive because blooms are early and profitable). This can exceed honey income. Strategy: place hives near crop fields during bloom (2-4 weeks), then move to a forage area for honey production, or maintain hives full-time in high-pollination-demand areas (California almond country, berry regions). Pollination is more stable income than honey (contract price is guaranteed) but requires mobility and hive management timed to grower needs.