How to Take Care of Bees: Honey Bee Care Through the Year

Taking care of honey bees comes down to a handful of jobs: inspect the hive every one to two weeks in the warm months, keep varroa mites below the treatment threshold, feed the colony when there is no nectar, give it room so it does not swarm, and get it ready for winter. Do those well and most colonies look after the rest themselves.

This page walks through each job, then lays out what to do in each season. For a month-by-month version for your climate, see our beekeeping calendar by region. At the bottom you will find all our bee care guides, grouped by topic.

The six jobs of honey bee care

• Inspect. Open the hive regularly to confirm the queen is laying, the brood looks healthy and the bees have space and food.
• Manage varroa mites. Mites and the viruses they spread are the top cause of colony losses in North America. Count them, and treat when the count says so.
• Feed when needed. Sugar syrup or pollen substitute bridges gaps when flowers are scarce, and tops up winter stores.
• Prevent swarming. Add boxes before the bees run out of room, and split strong colonies in spring.
• Keep pests out. Wax moths, small hive beetles, mice and ants all target weak or poorly set-up hives.
• Prepare for winter. Leave enough honey, reduce the entrance, manage moisture and protect the hive from wind.

A simple printed checklist helps you record what you saw at each visit, so you can spot trends from week to week.

1. Inspect the hive regularly

From spring to early fall, open the hive every 7–10 days during swarm season and every two weeks the rest of the time. Pick a warm, calm, sunny day, ideally late morning, when many foragers are out. Avoid opening the hive when it is below about 55 °F (13 °C), because chilled brood can die.

At each inspection, work through the brood box and check for:

• Eggs. Eggs mean a queen was laying in the last three days, even if you never see her.
• A solid brood pattern. Capped brood should be a mostly continuous patch with few empty cells. A spotty pattern can point to a failing queen or disease. See how to read the brood pattern.
• Queen cells. Cells along the bottom edges of frames in spring usually mean the colony is preparing to swarm.
• Food. There should be capped honey around the top of the brood frames and pollen next to the brood.
• Space. If bees cover 7 or 8 of 10 frames, add the next box.
• Anything odd. Sunken, greasy or perforated cappings, chalky white larvae, or a bad smell all need a closer look.

Use a smoker and a hive tool, and wear at least a veil. Our step-by-step guide to inspecting a beehive covers the routine in detail, and signs of a queenless hive explains what to do if you find no eggs.

2. Keep varroa mites under control

Every colony in North America has varroa mites. The goal is not zero mites but keeping them below the level where they cause damage. That means counting mites, not guessing. By the time you see bees with shrivelled, deformed wings, the colony is already in trouble.

The standard method is an alcohol wash or sugar roll: shake about 300 bees (roughly half a cup) off a brood frame, dislodge the mites, and count them. Divide the count by three to get mites per 100 bees. The Honey Bee Health Coalition suggests treating at about 2 mites per 100 bees in spring and summer, and 1 per 100 in fall, when the colony is raising the long-lived bees that must survive winter. Test at least once a month from spring to fall. See how to count varroa mites.

Treatment options include:

• Oxalic acid, dribbled or vaporized. It works best when the colony has little or no capped brood, such as in early winter or right after a split, because it does not reach mites under cappings. Vaporizing needs an acid-rated respirator. Compare the best oxalic acid vaporizers.
• Formic acid pads, which do reach mites in capped brood. They are temperature sensitive, so follow the label closely.
• Thymol gels and strips, a plant-derived option for warm weather.
• Amitraz strips (Apivar), a synthetic miticide still effective in most areas.
• Non-chemical tools such as drone brood removal, brood breaks from splitting, and mite-resistant stock.

Always follow the label, especially the rules about honey supers and temperature, and rotate between treatment types so mites do not build resistance. Our guide to the best varroa mite treatments compares the main products side by side.

3. Feed your bees when forage is short

Bees feed themselves when flowers are blooming. You step in when there is a gap: a new colony drawing out comb, a cold or wet spring, a summer dearth, or a hive that is light going into winter.

• 1:1 sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water by weight) in spring stimulates brood rearing and comb building.
• 2:1 syrup (twice as much sugar as water) in early fall helps the bees store food quickly. Stop feeding syrup once it is too cold for the bees to take it and cure it.
• Fondant or a candy board goes on top of the frames in winter as emergency food. See installing a candy board.
• Pollen substitute patties support brood rearing in late winter and early spring before natural pollen arrives.

Take honey supers off before feeding syrup, or the bees will store syrup in the honey you plan to harvest. The type of feeder matters too: internal feeders reduce robbing, while entrance feeders are easy to check but can attract robbers. See our guide to the best bee feeders, and make sure there is a clean water source near the hive all year.

4. Prevent swarms, and catch the ones you miss

Swarming is how colonies reproduce: the old queen leaves with about half the bees. It is natural, but you lose those bees and much of that season’s honey crop. Swarm season peaks in spring, when colonies build up fastest.

• Add boxes before the bees fill the one they have.
• Check for queen cells at every spring inspection.
• Split strong colonies in spring. You get a second colony, and the split breaks the swarm urge.
• Replace old queens. Young queens are less likely to swarm.

Even careful beekeepers miss one now and then. A bait hive with lure, set up in spring, often catches swarms from your own or nearby hives. See the best swarm traps and lures and our guide to swarm control.

5. Keep pests out of the hive

A strong colony defends itself against most pests. Weak colonies, and hives with more space than the bees can patrol, are where problems start.

• Wax moths destroy stored comb and weak colonies. Do not give a small colony more boxes than it can cover, freeze frames before storing them, and consider the best wax moth traps near stored equipment.
• Small hive beetles are worst in warm, humid areas such as the Southeast. Keep colonies strong and use beetle traps between frames. See small hive beetle treatment.
• Mice move into hives in fall to nest in the warm comb. Fit a mouse guard or a reduced entrance before the first frosts. Read beehive mouse guards: the pros and cons.
• Ants steal honey and stress the colony. A hive stand with its legs in oil or water moats keeps them off. See protecting honey bees from ants.

Brood diseases need quick action. American foulbrood is incurable and highly contagious; in most places infected colonies and equipment must be burned, and many states require you to report it. European foulbrood is usually managed by requeening and strengthening the colony, with antibiotics only on a veterinarian’s prescription. Chalkbrood usually clears up in a strong, well-ventilated colony. Our guide to honey bee diseases shows what each looks like.

Beekeeping calendar: what to do each season

Timing depends on your climate. Beekeepers in the South run several weeks ahead of those in the North, so follow local bloom rather than the date. Use this table as a guide.

For more detail, see beekeeping tasks for each season, getting hives ready for spring and our fall checklist.

Getting a hive ready for winter

Winter losses usually come from three things: too many mites in fall, too little food, and cold, dripping condensation. Bees do not heat the whole hive; they heat the cluster, and they burn honey to do it.

• Leave enough honey. A rough guide is about 40 lb in the South, around 60 lb in the middle states and 80–90 lb in the North.
• Treat mites in late summer, so the winter bees are raised healthy.
• Control moisture. An upper vent, moisture board or quilt box stops condensation dripping on the cluster. See controlling moisture in the beehive.
• Reduce, but never seal, the entrance. Bees need air and a way out for cleansing flights on warm days.
• Insulate and block the wind in cold climates. Our guide to winter beehive insulation compares wraps, insulated covers and foam boxes.

The full routine is in how to prepare beehives for winter.

Signs of a healthy hive

You can learn a lot before you even open the lid. A healthy colony has steady traffic at the entrance on warm days, with foragers bringing in pollen. Inside, you want eggs and young larvae, a solid patch of capped brood, honey and pollen around the brood, calm bees, and a sweet, waxy smell.

Warning signs include little traffic on a warm day, no eggs, a patchy brood pattern, lots of drones and no worker brood, crawling bees with deformed wings, a sour or rotten smell, and fighting at the entrance (robbing). Any of these deserves a closer look at your next inspection, or sooner.

Frequently asked questions

How often should you check on your bees?

Every 7–10 days in spring swarm season and about every two weeks in summer and early fall. In winter, do not open the hive; just check the entrance and heft the back of the hive now and then to judge how much food is left.

Do honey bees need to be fed?

Not when nectar is flowing and they have enough honey. Feed a new colony while it builds comb, any colony during a long dearth, and colonies that are light going into winter. Never feed syrup while honey supers you plan to harvest are on the hive.

Do I have to treat my bees for mites?

You have to monitor them. Untreated colonies with high mite counts usually collapse within one to two years. Test monthly from spring to fall and treat when the count reaches the threshold, about 2 per 100 bees in spring and summer, and 1 per 100 in fall.

How much time does taking care of bees take?

For one or two hives, plan on 30–60 minutes per hive every week or two during the warm months, plus a few longer sessions for honey harvest, splits and winter prep. Winter needs very little time.

What do bees need in winter?

Enough stored honey, a low mite load going in, dry conditions inside the hive, shelter from wind, and an entrance that is reduced but open. They do not need you to open the hive or add heat.

Can you keep bees without doing anything?

Not responsibly. Unmanaged colonies often swarm, and mite-heavy colonies can spread mites and disease to neighbours’ hives when they collapse and are robbed. Beekeeping does not take a lot of time, but it does need regular attention. Our list of common beginner beekeeping mistakes shows where new beekeepers most often go wrong.

Still choosing equipment? Start with our guide to types of beehives and the best beehive starter kits.

All our bee care guides

In-depth guides to the pests, diseases and seasonal jobs covered above.

Pests and parasites

• How varroa mites affect colonies
• How to count varroa mites
• Best varroa mite treatments
• Best oxalic acid vaporizers
• Small hive beetle: what it is and how to treat it
• Wax moths in the beehive
• Best wax moth traps
• Beehive mouse guards
• Protecting bees from Asian giant hornets
• Honey bee pests, parasites and predators

Brood diseases and viruses

• American foulbrood
• European foulbrood
• Chalkbrood
• Sacbrood
• Nosema
• Deformed wing virus
• Honey bee diseases and control measures

Feeding and water

• An introduction to feeding bees
• Best bee feeders
• How to make a DIY bee feeder
• Pollen patties: are they necessary?
• Why bees need a clean water source

Inspections, queens and swarms

• How to inspect a beehive
• Reading the brood pattern
• Signs of a queenless hive
• The basics of requeening
• Why and how bees swarm
• Swarm control and management
• Best swarm traps and lures

Through the seasons

• Beekeeping tasks for each season
• Getting hives ready for spring
• Summer and hot beehives
• A fall checklist for beekeepers
• How to prepare beehives for winter
• Winter beehive insulation