Apiary Establishment, Seasonal Colony Management and Queen Rearing
Apiary establishment, seasonal management and queen rearing test whether you can plan a year of colony work.
Site selection
Choose a site with bee flora within 1-2 km, clean water, dappled shade, a windbreak and low pesticide risk. Keep at least 2 km from another apiary to reduce drifting and robbing. Place hives on stands 0.3-0.5 m above ground, 1.5-3 m apart, facing east or south, away from public paths and livestock.
Seasonal management
Spring: build brood, add supers, control swarming. Monsoon: protect from rain, feed sugar syrup and pollen substitute in dearth, prevent robbing. Winter: pack colonies, reduce entrances, ensure stores. Replace old queens and unite weak colonies before major flows.
Queen rearing
The Doolittle method grafts young larvae (under 24 hours) into queen cups. A strong nurse colony raises them. Queens emerge, mate in mating nucs, and are banked or introduced. Success needs drones, nectar flow and warm weather.
Worked example
A spring queen-rearing plan for A. cerana: select a disease-free breeder colony, graft 20 young larvae into cups, place them in a queenless nurse box, and after 10-11 days move sealed cells to mating nucs. Reasoning: young larvae become queens; sealed cells must be handled gently; mating needs drones and calm weather.
Traps
Do not move colonies less than 2 km for a short period and expect foragers to stay. Do not graft old larvae. Do not feed syrup during a honey flow or leave weak colonies to rob stronger ones. Do not rear queens without drones.