Beekeeper calendar: plan for insect care in Russia by months

Beekeeping is hard, responsible work that requires a lot of effort and attention. Of course, it is simply impossible to remember everything, so even experienced beekeepers use the beekeeper's calendar. This is a very useful thing that allows you to mark the dates of upcoming work, as well as record what has already been done or, conversely, not done. There are several options for calendars - choose the one that will be most convenient for you.

Classic monthly beekeeping calendar

The most convenient is the calendar of beekeeping by months. It will not be superfluous for a beginner beekeeper to find out what work and when it is recommended to carry out.

January

Throughout the month, you should listen to the hive with a rubber hose. One end is inserted into the notch, the second is applied to the ear. If the insects make a faint, barely audible noise, this is considered a good sign.

February

In front of the hives, you need to remove snow or scatter straw. This will be a signal to the bees that they can make their first flyby. It is very important, because during the winter period a large amount of excrement accumulates in the intestines of insects. Because of this, they often suffer from diarrhea.

Also during this period, the beekeeper must identify other problems and, if any, eliminate them. Main works:

removing old honey from combs;
cleaning the letok from deadness;
replacing the old insulation with a new one;
continue listening to the hives, checking their ventilation.

Note! Throughout the winter season, the main tasks for the beekeeper are: repairing hives, preparing frames and equipment for nomads (in the presence of a mobile apiary) and other organizational and repair work.

March

The beehives are briefly inspected and, if necessary, additional feeding is given to the bees.

When diseases are detected in bees, you need to treat them with preparations, lubricate additional frames with wax to expand insect nests.

April

During the second spring month, you need to be in time:

treat beehives and insects from ticks;
carry out thorough disinfection of hives and inventory;
if necessary, transfer the bee colony to another hive.

Don't forget to install drinkers!

May

It's time to increase the activity of the bees. And the beekeeper during this period needs:

remove unnecessary frames;
insulate hives if weather forecasts show frost;
carry out preventive work to prevent the appearance of moths or parasitic infections;
do work to prevent swarming.

At the same time, the bee family is actively growing.

June

Summer months are the period of the highest activity of honey insects. Throughout June follows:

take out the beehives for honey collection;
use all methods to stop swarming;
use herbal preparations to treat houses from ticks;
set magazines on beehives.

All this must be done in time, because June is the time for the flowering of honey plants.

July

The second month of summer is the time to prepare spare frames, install an additional body on the hives for opening entrances. It is important to have time to change the frames - remove the sealed ones and put in new ones. If there are old queens in the family, they should be replaced with young ones.

August

The air temperature is gradually decreasing, especially at night. It is time to pump out honey, complete the nest, distribute autumn dressings. It is necessary to get rid of low-quality honeycombs and frames, take measures to prevent theft, if necessary, unite weak families.

September

Preventive work is being carried out. Hives are treated with chemicals, they are cleaned and disinfected. Beekeepers collect propolis, store frames with honey and perga. Wax processing in progress.

October

Final stage of storage of frames and other additional elements for hives. Deratization is performed if necessary.

November

Bees are moving to wintering, so you first need to dry the hives, check the ventilation. When all the families of bees gather in the houses, their behavior should be assessed, not forgetting to blow it periodically throughout the winter.

December

Main work:

ensure proper ventilation of the hives;
to scare away rodents, drip 15 drops of mint oil on the surface of the arrival board;
take inventory.

Now you can leave the basic insect care procedures for a while, remembering to listen to the hives regularly.

Ancient calendar

Beekeeping is an ancient craft that has been in demand at all times. Of particular importance was given to him by the ancient Slavs, who developed the first beekeeping calendar. It describes the types of work not by whole months, but by individual numbers. Date

Basic Information 1February 4Day of Timofey-half-winter - the period when beekeepers checked the omshaniki and listened to the hive.If the buzzing is quiet, everything is in order, and a loud buzzing indicates problems. 2March 25 On the day of the Annunciation, it is customary to beat the omshanik, extract and take out the beehives. 3 April 1Daryin's day - the time when the countdown begins before the flowering of alder earrings. As soon as this process begins, the hives are taken out of the room where they have been all winter. 4April 28 Bee Pud - time to end the winter bee period. 5 April 30On the Day of Zosima the beekeeper, the placement of beehives in places in the fresh air was adopted. 6






	July 21	Kazan: it's time to go for honey.
7	August 2	Cutting in progress
8	August 14	Honey Spas. It is time to break out the honeycombs, to sample the first honey reserves. Bees stop carrying honey bees.

This calendar is not used very often these days, primarily due to climate change. But he also has his followers, especially among the inhabitants of rural areas.

Folk omens by seasons

Another beekeeper's calendar concerns not only the care of honey insects. Observant beekeepers always knew what to expect from striped workers, and folk signs helped them in this.

Winter

Rooftops need to be looked at on January 1: the snow hanging from them portends a strong bee swarm.

January 18 - Epiphany Eve: if the branches bend under the weight of the snow, the bee swarm will be successful.

January 19 - Epiphany: a strong snow whirlwind or the beginning of a snowstorm while entering the Epiphany font promises active swarming.

February 1: if the bees have flown out of the hive, the heat will come with a delay. A strong rumble in the hive, echoing heavy snowfall, predicts excellent swarming.

Spring

March 1: The early departure of bees from the hives heralds the early arrival of spring.

April 28: A small loss of bees indicates a rich harvest of buckwheat.

If the bees get embittered on May 1 - to inclement weather.

Summer

Signs June 1:

Bees are angry, often sting - to drought.
Insects buzz loudly - wait for the weather to change soon, to rain.
Bees fly near the hive - to inclement weather, flew far into the field - to sunny days.

July 7: if it started to rain - by August 14 (the first Savior) there will be honey.

Autumn

September 1: Insects close the entrance and gaps in the hive - for a harsh winter. The sooner the drones are driven out of the houses, the sooner the cold will come.

14 October. The Pure One covers the hives with snow.

Calendars by region

The beekeeper's calendar in Russia differs depending on the location of a particular region. Work on beekeeping in the zone of central Russia by regions and seasons is as follows:

January. In the Moscow region and other regions of the middle zone, the bees are wintering for the third month, in the north - 4 months, in the south - 2 months.
February. In the middle lane, insects are already actively laying eggs, in the north they are still in hornets, in the south, the period of hive exhibition begins.
March. On the territory of the middle belt, insects do not fly out of their winter quarters for the fifth month; in the northern regions they winter for six months. In the south, it is already possible to start a cursory revision of the hives, starting preparations for their removal.
April. In the middle lane, wintering is coming to an end. Beekeepers begin to inspect bee houses, clean up the area in the apiary. Beekeepers from the northern regions have been keeping insects for the winter for the seventh month, and in the south the period has already begun to collect bribes from boxwood, dogwood trees, wild lemon flowers, azaleas, and other honey plants and trees.

May. Bees from the middle lane take bribes from lungwort, willow bushes, willows and many other honey plants. The beekeepers of the northern regions are just beginning to carry out revision and preparatory work. Under good weather conditions, insects receive bribes from willow bushes. Bribes are being collected from pears, white locust, horse chestnut in the south.
June. In all regions, the growth of bee colonies is taking place, the period of honey collection continues.
July. The period of bribes from different cultures continues.
August. Insects of the middle lane finish collecting bribes, drones are expelled from the hives. Beekeepers in the northern regions are preparing hives for the winter season, in the south the season of bribes is still ongoing.
September. In all regions, the activity of bees decreases, they gradually move into a phase of rest and preparation for the arrival of cold weather. A small bribe is still possible in the south.
October. Active preparations are underway for the winter hut, hives are being inspected, and other work is being done.
November. The bees are in winter dormancy, rare overflights are possible in the south.
December. In all regions, bees are kept in winter quarters.

Beekeeper's calendar is a convenient and affordable way to track the activity of insects. It also allows you to remember all the main work that needs to be done within a certain time frame. After all, the offspring of bees and the volume of produced useful bee products depend on this.