What is happening in your hive in December (Southern Hemisphere)?

The Longest Day.

Southern Hemisphere Summer Solstice December 21 is nearly here. With days of extended daylight, your Queen’s egg production is at a peak. She is maintaining a large brood nest with a growing number of worker bees.

Swarms - Decreasing

The likelihood of swarms starts to decrease as the bees slow in raising queen cells in preparation for swarming. Inspect hives in 3-week intervals for health issues and check for queen cells.

Plan Ahead to Requeen Over Summer.

Plan to requeen if necessary. As a general guide, commercial beekeepers requeen annually, and recreational beekeepers requeen every two years.

Collect Honey.

You can collect your honey surplus if available. Only if required, provide bees with space to build new wax comb and collect nectar (add extra super).

Raise a Nuc.

Summer is a good time to do a split to raise a nucleus colony. A nuc of bees is always good to have handy. It is your back up resource for your beekeeping and is highly recommended. Warm weather and the abundance of nectar and pollen provide excellent conditions for raising new nucleus colonies.