Greetings beekeepers, 

This fall has been so warm the solstice really snuck up on me. That being said definitely check your honey stores. The bees are burning energy flying around with no nectar coming in. I have already added one round of sugar bricks to my hives and plan to check them all the first warmish day in January.

After the winter solstice, the bees will start to notice the days getting longer and will encourage the queen to start laying. She'll lay only a few eggs at first, and spiral outwards.  She'll be laying hundreds of eggs by February and March. Those are the two most common months when colonies will starve. 

We’ll start raising 2022 queens when we see drones walking on the combs- usually early April. Until then, we’re assembling equipment, getting things painted, and enjoying a few non-beekeeping hobbies. The 2022 queen color is yellow, so get your yellow markers ordered and ready!  

Until then, stay warm, keep your bees fed, and clear those entrances of dead bees. 

-

Bryan and Karly Fae

Chesapeake Queen Company 

What should you be doing now? 

1. Register or renew your hives with the MD Department of Agriculture - it's free and it's the law - click here for the form. 
2. Renew your bee club memberships. Maybe consider adding a new club to the mix this year, or making an end-of-year donation to your favorite club,  or donating to the state apiary inspector fund.
3. Go to bee club meetings or conferences in person or on zoom.
4. Add or replace sugar bricks on hives. 
5. Clean up any dead-outs and place any leftover honey frames on top of surviving colonies. 
6. Make your varroa game plan for the year. Use the Honey Bee Health Coalition varroa management tool to figure out your best options and how to use the various products properly.
7. Take time to assess what worked well this year so far, what could have gone better, what you might want to change for next year.
8. Make time to recharge for the year to come!

What are we up to: 

1. Renewing our hive registrations with the MD Department of Agriculture -click here for the form. 
2. Renewing bee club memberships and attending meetings and gatherings. Karly was elected Vice President of CMBA for 2022, please come to meetings (zoom or in-person) to show your support! 
3. Assembling, painting, and ordering equipment for next year. 
4. Making time to recharge for next year. 

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