Responsible Fall Beekeeping

Now that July is behind us and the honey flow is nearing the end of the beekeeping season, beekeepers must continue regular hive checks after the queen is caged. Especially after the queen is caged, the bees may try to create new queens which may increase the risk of swarming. It is our responsibility to keep colonies from spending a winter in someone's attic or eaves. I continue to perform hive checks every 10 days until the day I shop-vac my bees. Right now, I'm waiting for the bees to finish capping all the honeycomb. When most of it is capped, I will rob the frames, extract, and give sticky frames back to the bees to clean up for winter storage.