The work of beekeepers is not something that they take lightly. There is much more to this job than simply taking the honey from the hive. Beekeepers act as guardians of the hive. They begin by choosing a swarm of bees that has shown resistance to disease and produces well. After selecting their bees, the keeper must determine where their hive will be placed. Many different environmental factors affect the well-being of the hive and the beekeeper must be knowledgeable enough to find a location where the bees can thrive.Once the hive is established the beekeeper must be vigilant in his upkeep. Each season brings with it a new set of duties and a new chance for the destruction of the swarm.
SPRING
As the weather begins to warm after the cold winter season, the beekeeper begins to reinvigorate his hive. It must be carefully observed to insure that the Queen is doing well and that she has a large enough colony to produce honey. It is also the time to begin medicating the bees to protect them from diseases which often destroy the colony. The beekeeper must be careful, however, to stop this medication by mid-June, so as to not allow the honey that will be harvested to be contaminated.
SUMMER
Summer is the busiest times for beekeepers, because it is harvest time. When July comes beekeepers must put more supers (the frames that will be removed) in the hive, or the colony will stop producing honey. As the season moves along the beekeeper watches his hive and removes the supers as they are filled and capped. To remove the supers the beekeeper usually uses the method of "smoking" the hive. This involves using a specially designed device called a smoker that pushes a smoke cloud into the hive to disorient and sedate the bees. While the bees are occupied, the beekeeper can open the hive and remove the filled supers. Once he removes the frames they are put through the extraction process to remove the honey. This will keep a the beekeeper busy for most of the season and the more hives he has the more work he must do to make sure that none of the honey goes to waste.
FALL
Once Fall comes, the beekeeper can begin to slow down. At this point the bees will no longer be producing honey, so the beekeeper must make sure to give the colony enough sugar or extra honey to help them survive. The honey is their source of nutrients and without it the hive will die. If the beekeeper is not vigilant about feeding his colony and being sure to not take too much honey from them, he will find come Spring that his colony is gone.
WINTER
Winter is a dangerous time for a beekeeper. Bees are not incredibly hardy creatures, so the beekeeper must go to some lengths to ensure that his colony will survive. The hive needs to be at a temperature of about 50 degrees Celsius. It also needs to stay well ventilated. There are different ways to insulate a hive and depending on how much trouble the beekeeper wants to go to, the effectiveness of these methods can be quite good. If the beekeeper fails at protecting the hive, he will lose the colony and have to start again with new bees in the Spring. Some beekeepers actually choose to let their bees die and find it easier to just start anew when the cold winter ends.
