Contents

JANUARY................................................................................................................. 3
The Bees............................................................................................................. 3
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................... 3
The Flora............................................................................................................ 3
FEBRUARY.............................................................................................................. 4
The Bees............................................................................................................. 4
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................... 4
The Flora............................................................................................................ 4
MARCH................................................................................................................... 5
The Bees............................................................................................................. 5
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................... 5
The Flora............................................................................................................ 5
APRIL..................................................................................................................... 6
The Bees............................................................................................................. 6
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................... 6
The Flora............................................................................................................ 6
MAY........................................................................................................................ 8
The Bees............................................................................................................. 8
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................... 8
The Flora............................................................................................................ 8
JUNE..................................................................................................................... 10
The Bees........................................................................................................... 10
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 10
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 11
JULY...................................................................................................................... 12
The Bees........................................................................................................... 12
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 12
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 13
AUGUST............................................................................................................... 14
The Bees........................................................................................................... 14
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 14
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 15
SEPTEMBER......................................................................................................... 16

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

The Bees........................................................................................................... 16
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 16
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 17
OCTOBER............................................................................................................. 18
The Bees........................................................................................................... 18
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 18
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 19
NOVEMBER.......................................................................................................... 20
The Bees........................................................................................................... 20
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 20
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 20
DECEMBER........................................................................................................... 21
The Bees........................................................................................................... 21
The Beekeeper.................................................................................................. 21
The Flora.......................................................................................................... 22

JANUARY
The Bees
In January the colonies will be increasing in numbers and the brood chambers should contain
eight combs full of brood. Drone brood will be apparent. In some areas honey will be stored

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

but this will depend on the weather. Usually stored honey is being consumed in January as
brood is being reared. If January and February are very wet, European Foul Brood Disease
may make its appearance.

The Beekeeper
Stores of honey on hives should be checked and feeding commenced if stores are low. A
sugar syrup solution consisting of two parts sugar dissolved in one part water, with a little
iodised salt added will be suitable where bees are near home, otherwise candy feed is
recommended. If the bees are doing well, one or two old brood combs may be replaced with
foundation in February. Obviously if new drawn combs are available, they are better than
foundation in the brood chamber. Supers must be available for expanding colonies.

The Flora
The weather will affect flowering times and also the ability of the bees to get out and collect
nectar and pollen. The following trees and shrubs should be in bloom:Brachiastegia boehmii (mfuti)
Julbernardia globilora (mnondo)
Acacia (A.karroo, A. polycantha)
Combretum spp
Clophospermum mopane
Cassia abbreviata c, petersian
Azanza garckeana (tree hibiscus)
Ecucalyptus spp
Beans, manhanga, sunflowers, sunhemp, bottlebrush, pepper tree, coral creepers, lady
Chancellor trees, moon-flowers, etc

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

FEBRUARY
The Bees
Progress should continue with brood areas increasing and drones making their appearance in
larger numbers. In some areas colonies will grow quickly and swarm if they get crowded.
Honey stores may be consumed quickly and colony growth hindered if poor weather hinders
foraging. Comb building will be done repeatedly if new foundation has been given in place of
old bad combs in the brood areas. New supers will also be drawn out.

The Beekeeper
Ants and weeds will need to be controlled and rain must be kept out of and off hives if they
are to last long. Old combs maybe replaced in brood chambers this can be continued for the
next weeks as long as the bees continue drawing the foundation. In place of adding supers to
all hives, one or two strong colonies may be used to draw out brood combs for insertion into
other hives. Replacement of old combs with drawn combs instead of new foundations will
result in better progress. All old combs should be rendered down and wax recovered. None
should be wasted. If rapid progress from new colonies is required, they should be fed with
thick (i.e. 2 to 1) sugar syrup. Feeding should continue until the colony fills a brood chamber
or until the March/April honey flow occurs. Supers should be added before crowding occurs,
otherwise colonies will swarm and no honey crop will be obtained. Where colonies are not
progressing well, re-queening with vigorous young queens will put new life into them.

The Flora
Brachiastegia boehmii (Mfuti)
Acacia (A.karroo, A. polycantha)
Mopane (Clophospermum mopane)

Julbernardia globilora (Mnondo)

Combretum spp
Baikiea plurijuga (Rhodesia Teak)

Sunflower will start blooming and bees should be moved into the lands in good time.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

MARCH
The Bees
Colonies will be strong and swarming will occur where living room is limited. Supers will
provide storage room for the coming honey crop and living room for the many bees to live in.
Swarms will be numerous and, if given good treatment, will be very well established before
our winter dearth.

The Beekeeper
Adding supers to keep ahead of colony growth and honey storage is the main task this month.
Replacement of old combs in brood chambers should continue.

The Flora
Acacia karroo, and A. polycantha for pollen
Bauhhinia pertersiana for nectar
Uapaca plurijuga (mahobohobo) for nectar and pollen
Julbernardia globilora (mnondo) for nectar and pollen
Eucalyptus grandis (saligna) for honey crop
Beans, pumpkins, sunflowers, sunhemp, bottlebrush, Brazilian pepper trees, coral creepers

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

APRIL
The Bees
Better weather will enable the bees to forge effectively and the larger colonies will be storing
nectar. Swarming will occur and the beekeeper should take the steps to control this. Drones
will be numerous. Pollen will be coming in well and should be seen stored on the edge in the
brood chambers. Other brood combs will be full of brood with very little honey stored in the
brood chamber yet.

The Beekeeper
Good brood combs are important and one or two combs may be replaced in April in strong
colonies. Frames with foundation should be placed away from the edge of the hives but
drawn combs would be better. Drawn combs may be obtained from trap-hives, or a brood
chamber may be placed on a hive in place of two supers for honey storage by a strong colony.
These brood combs may then be extracted first, or if not full of capped honey, maybe placed
directly into a brood chamber.
New colonies should be fed to allow storage of supplies for winter and for good comb
building. Smaller colonies should be combined if quick honey production is required, but at
least a few small swarms may be kept going in trap-hives to provide queens if these are
required to replace losses from productive colonies.
Add supers too soon rather than too late they can always be removed if bees have not
moved up into them within a few weeks. And remember that the bees will move up into the
supers when they are ready to do so; they will not always move up just because you think
they should! Bees need temporary storage room while they ripen nectar during a honey flow.
Full supers maybe cropped provided always that enough honey is left for winter. At least one
full super should be left on each hive.

The Flora
Eucalyptus grandis
Protea angolensis
Baikiea plurijuga (Rhodesia Teak)
Faurea Speciosa and Faurea saligna (African Beaech)

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

Acacia pdolyrifolia
Aloes and euphorbias will be useful for pollen and nectar. Paw paws, daisies, dahlias and tree
dahlias will flower.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

MAY
The Bees
Swarming will be less of a problem in May but they will certainly occur. Many colonies will
be reducing their brood areas and more honey (and pollen) will be stored in the brood
chambers. In many areas bees will be doing well nectar will be coming in and there should
be a surplus of honey available for cropping. By the end of the month brood rearing will be
decreasing. There will be fewer swarms around and little drone brood will be seen. Mature
drones will still be pron. Mature drones will still be present in the hive.

The Beekeeper
Small colonies should be built up now if they are to survive the winter. New colonies should
be fed until at least all the combs in the brood chambers are drawn out a full of brood and
honey. Feeding with sugar syrup is advised and uniting of weak swarms is recommended.
The better queen judged on brood pattern should be selected when uniting, or better still
wide queens should be killed and replaced with selectively breed queen. A good young queen
should be good for twelve to seventeen months and will certainly be worth introducing.
Productive colonies will be capping honey well and full supers may be removed where
granulation occurs, full frames may be taken out as they are capped, as delay may lead to
granulation in the combs which can be a problem.
Supers not full of bees or honey may be removed as colony strength decreases. Where hives
are cropped a careful decision is necessary before reducing the number of supers in good
areas. Where eucalyptus trees are flowering well, the bees may well fill supers and should not
be limited in the storage room available. With the onset of cooler weather, protection from
wind is of vital importance. Cooling of the sides (and top) of the hives can lead to
condensation which is undesirable. Hives should not be given top ventilation holes to release
moist warn air as too much heat loss can occur and the bees will consume vast quantities of
honey to generate heat and will thus likely be short of food later on.

The Flora
Eucalyptus grandis (saligna)

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

Paw-paw, bananas, prickly-pear, beans, broccoli, sunhemp, aloes, bottlebrush, privet, Christthorn, tree dahlia, ginger bush, lavender, moon flowers, poppies and water lilies will be useful
for the bees to work on.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

JUNE
The Bees
With the onset of the cold weather the bees will be less active, and with the shorter days,
flying time will be much reduced. The bees will, however continue to forge actively on
warmer days and in some areas will add to their honey stores. They should not yet be
consuming the stored honey too fast. Entrances will be propolised and only a small number of
small holes will be left as entrance. Brood rearing will decrease considerably but should not
cease all together. If there is no brood then a careful examination should be made to see that
nothing is wrong in the hive. There should be stored food and the queen should be present.
Drones will be evicted with the first frost and will be seen in a heap below the hive entrance.
The bees will tend to cluster closer together and will not need too much space in the hive. The
cluster formed is not as tight as overseas but is nevertheless a noticeable feature.

The Beekeeper
The beekeeper may crop his hives in June in areas where there are late honey flows but
sufficient honey must be left for the bees. The absolute minimum for established colonies is
one shallow super which must be immediately above the brood chamber. If this food supply
is left too high, the bees will not leave the cluster to reach it readily. Hives must be protected
from the cold, particularly where they are exposed to wind or cold air flows. Hives in the
open are vulnerable to cold air the least that should be done is to pack some insulating
material (newspaper) between the inner and outer covers. This will to some extent alleviate
the problem of condensation in the hive which occurs in winter, particularly in underpopulated or over-supered hives.
Feeding must be commenced where hives are short of stored honey. Sugar syrup may be fed
in hive-top feeders or sugar candy may be fed in feeder trays in the hives. Feeding will not
make the bees lazy in the future but is absolutely essential where the bees have no honey
stores. After hives have been cropped, a full supper of honey should remain immedialty
above the brood chambers with any uncapped honey in supers above. The number of supers
on the hive should be adjusted to give the bees sufficient living room and excess supers must
be removed for storage. Dry supers can be stored with naphthalene (moth balls) to keep out
new wax moths. The naphthalene will not kill any stages of the wax-month and steps must be
taken to kill eggs, larvae and pupae. Deep freezing for a few days will do the job. Supers

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

must be examined periodically to see that no larvae have escaped, whatever treatment is
given. This is a good time to attend to hive maintainance. Hive parts should be repaired and
repainted. Spare parts are useful so that bees can be transferred to hives in good condition
while others are repaired.

The Flora
Eucalyptus may still be giving a honey flow in some areas. Parinaria curatellifonia (Moboloa
plum) may start soon. Aloes will be popular for some nectar and pollen. Brassicas ( the
cabbage family), Arum lilies, granadillas (passion-fruit), red hot pokers, daisies, ginger bush,
portulaccas poppies tree dahlias and avocado pear trees.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

JULY
The Bees
Brood rearing will be at a minimum as the weather gets colder and examination will show 2
or 3 frames of brood, if that. Many of the brood frames will have been filled with honey in
May and early June and there should be sufficient food stored in the brood chamber and first
super to keep the bees going until late August or early September when the first useful forage
is available. If an examination shows no brood, then look to see if a queen is present. If so,
then no brood means no honey in hive, too much cold due to exposure or ants worrying the
bees. Corrective action must be taken. If the hive is queen-less there will be many drones and
scattered drone brood in the worker cell area, the drones being the progeny of the laying
workers. Queen-less colonies can be re-queened by combining with a queen right swarm or
small colon from a trap-hive, or by introducing a laying queen (now available commercially).
The other reason for no brood is starvation or near starvation so commence feeding regularly
and heavily. Provided the bees have fresh or stored pollen and stored honey, brood rearing in
earnest can commence in mid July. Stimulation with feeding of sugar syrup can also start
brood-rearing. Drones will not normally be found in hives in this period.
Food can be supplied by frames of honey from other well-stocked hives or sugar syrup by
pouring into the cells of empty brood frames or iin bottles on top of the hives. Sugar candy
can be put into feeding trays in place of the inner cover.
Mix 2 kg (6lbs) white sugar, 1 lb honey, 1 teaspoon iodised salt, 2 teaspoons white vinegar
and 11 oz water, and stir continuously over a low heat until the temperature reaches 240
degrees F or 116 degrees C. Pour the candy into the tray and allow to cool. It should set like
fudge. It will prevent the starvation of a colony and will last longer than sugar syrup but is
less likely to stimulate much brood rearing. During warm days bees will fly actively and
collect whatever pollen and nectar they can find but will unlikely to add much to the stores of
the hive. Some swarms may be caught ... to strengthen weaker colonies.

The Beekeeper
July is an in between time, to prepare for the coming season. Stored equipment should be
checked for wax moth damage and repaired. Painting of spare equipment is essential so that
items are in order when required. Equipment in use should be replaced and painted if

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

necessary. Untidy hives with peeling paint and open joints are not items to be proud of and do
not encourage the beekeeper to look after his bees with enjoyment.
Where necessary feeding must commence as the colonies enter the build up period and
continue as long as the bees take the syrup or a good quantity has been stored. In mid July
hives should be examined to see that each has an active queen. If not a good queen should be
introduced on her own or with a nucleus colony from a trap-hive. After the bees have started
brood-rearing properly, newly-drawn combs should be introduced into the brood chambering
place of the old combs. Drawn combs may be obtained during a honey flow by using a brood
chamber as a super and storing the extracted combs until needed in the brood chamber. The
regular replacement of combs in the brood chamber will help to ensure that the colony will
stay in a productive state for many years. Foundation in frames may be placed directly into a
brood chamber but only later in the season when there are enough young bees to ensure that
the wax is drawn into the comb quickly.

The Flora
Aloes, buddleia spp, combretum spp, dombeya rotundifolia (wild pear), ginger bush, bottle
brush, salvina, calliadra, easter oil plant and various aloes.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

AUGUST
The Bees
They may be worse-tempered than normal and for little provocation will cause trouble. They
are actively rearing brood and cannot always collect enough forage which may explain their
bad behaviour. By the end of the month there will be 8-9 frames of brood and the supers will
not be as full as the were the honey will have been used in brood rearing. New combos will
be built rapidly and well, with few drone cells being constructed. The queen will be laying
between 2000 and 3000 eggs a day and the colony will be growing in numbers. Drone comb
will also have drone brood at this time. Bees will be seen in large numbers round their water
supplies which should be available if they are not to be a nuisance round the nearest
swimming bath. Add salt to make the water supply more attractive. Make sure thta the bees
cannot drown. In addition to consuming their honey stores, bees will also be eating the pollen
stores. They can make use of sugar syrup and will rear brood provided that they have either
stored or fresh pollen available. The numbers are increasing rapidly and if the hives become
crowded, swarming will occur. Drones are increasing in numbers too.

The Beekeeper
Inspect hives to see if bees have enough honey to enable them to rear sufficient worker bees
to gather honey early in the season. All hives should have been left with enough (minimum
one full super) from the autumn honey flow to see them through the early summer. New
colonies and those who have used up stores must be fed. Thin sugar syrup (1:1) may be fed to
all colonies to stimulate fast brood rearing but most good hives will not need this. Watch the
strength of the colony and add supers when necessary. Colonies with good queens and
sufficient stores will grow rapidly and many beekeepers are too slow in supering up which
usually leads to swarming and reduces honey crops. As soon as brood rearing is well
underway the preplanning programme of brood comb replacement can start. Ideally drawn
brood combs should be available but where they are not, frames with foundation wax may be
used to replace 2 or 3 of the worst old combs. Combs to be replaced which still contain brood
maybe put to the side of the main brood area, where the queen is less likely to lay eggs in
them again and replaced once the brood has emerged. Frames with foundation should not be
replaced in the outside position of the brood chambers as they are unlikely to get properly or
fully drawn there. Brood combs replacement is a very important part of good hive
management often neglected.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

August is a good month to re-queen your hives with vigorous young queens from selected
stock. Big demands are made on the ability of the queen in spring, and old ones are likely to
fail this time. Young queens should also ensure considerably less swarming, provided that
other aspects of management are good. This is an important time in any beekeepers calendar,
as later performance of a colony depends on it having been well prepared for its work early in
the season.

The Flora
Avocado pear for pollen and nectar

Combretum, Dombeya rotundifolia

Pranus spp (Peaches, pears, plums cherries, wild pear)

Acrocarpus (Pink Cedar)
Red apple, pepper trees, Acacia spp

Frythrina abyssinica
Rigelia pinnata (Sausage Tree)

Ageratum, Echium fastuosum (Pride of Madeira)

Lonchocarpus capassa (Rain tree/Violet

tree)
Salix Babylonica (Weeping Willow)

Lannea discolour (Live-Long)

Brachystegia speciformis (Msasa)

Macadamia Nut Trees, Privet

Pseudolachrostylis saproineafolia (Duiker Tree)

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

SEPTEMBER
The Bees
Colony growth will continue and colonies will become strong under good management. They
will be ready to swarm and the beekeeper will have to try to reduce the tendency. Drones will
be plentiful and queen cells will often be found if brood frames are examined. The bees will
be active collecting pollen, nectar and water which should be provided near the hives. It is
very necessary for diluting honey and cooling hives in hot weather an important part of
bees activities. Where entrance cleats have been left in to reduce hive entrance size, the bees
will be making efforts to nibble away the wood and make openings large enough for the
volume bee traffic and for hive ventilation.

The Beekeeper
Old combs in the brood chamber may be replaced this month if they were not replaced in
August. Three of four combs should be replaced each year, in the hive.
The replacement of old brood combs with frames containing wax foundation is advantageous
in improving te quality of the comb in the brood nest. The cells in very old combs become
smaller with continues use and definitely need regular replacement. The insertion of wax
foundation in the brood chamber is considered a useful method of swarm control. Old combs
without brood may be removed all together for rendering down, while combs with brood may
be removed from a strong colony and used to strengthen weaker ones. Strengthening weak
colonies is only beneficial where good queens are present. Boosting weak colonies with poor
colonies is of no lasting benefit.
Entrance cleats should be removed altogether from hives with one or more supers or the bees
will get overheated. Ensure that hives are not in the sun all day. Strong colonies with good
queens may as well need to be cropped in September. Additional supers should certainly be
added to strong colonies to alleviate overcrowding of the bees. Additionally supers may be
necessary to accommodate all the bees in a hive even though there is no sealed honey for
cropping. Beginners should limit to three only, the supers on their hived. Experienced
beekeepers may decide to put more than three on each hive provided they are confident of
their ability to handle the large colonies which will result.
New queens could still be introduced to any colony but many beekeepers will be reluctant to
search for the old queens to replace in strong colonies. It is not impossible to find them if

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

various tricks of the trade are employed. Send queries at Box 8117, Causeway. If colonies are
not progressing well the queen may be suspect and replacement could bring rapid
improvement.

The Flora
Brachystegia speciformis (Msasa)

Bottle Brush

Brachystegia boehmii (Mufuti)

European Oak

Syringa berry trees

Silky oak

Avocado pear trees

Exotic shrubs and creepers

Jacaranda trees

Brassioa spp. (broccoli, etc) if allowed to flower.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

OCTOBER
The Bees
They will be busy this month and somewhat touchy particularly where hives are not in the
shade. They will be collecting water and will be seen in large numbers at bird baths and
available ponds, fanning both to cool their hives and evaporate into the honey, the copious
quantity of nectar they will be collecting. Indigenous flora seldom has much nectar during the
warm hours of the day. This leads to reduced flight activity with many more bees present in
the hive in the middle of the day. The bees are easily disturbed and may react unfavourably if
not handled with care. A garden spray may be used to cool the hives and the temper of the
bees but should not be used as a matter of routine. Drones will be in abundance and swarming
is likely to occur where it has already not happened. Any swarms trapped may be used to start
new hives or the workers may be added to the work force of existing colonies.

The Beekeeper
Supers must be added to hives before their need is too obvious supers are added before bees
are forced to cluster on the landing board. Entrance cleats should be removed from nearly all
hives, the exceptions being small colonies of less than five brood frames. A restricted
entrance will make it very difficult for bees to evaporate their honey successfully and a thin,
runny honey is the result. Shade and water are still important. Full supers may be cropped,
and cropping will be well underway, but one full super should always be left in case of
emergency and to satisfy the colonies need for food stores. Only good record-keeping will
show which hives are productive. Any poor performers should have their queens replaced.
Records also show colonies which are bad-tempered and should be re-queened. Docile bees
are now available through selectively-bred queens.
Some beekeepers will have noticed drones being reared at the bottom edges of combs in
some supers where there are four or five supers on a hive. These drones are the result of a
laying-worker activity and this is caused by faulty distribution of queen substance amongst
the thousands of young bees being raised at present. It is a nuisance more than a serious
problem. It occurs where colonies are strong and only when queen excluders are used. The
drones must be released otherwise the queen excluder may get completely blocked off by
their dead bodies. An escape hole may be left at the top of the hive or supers may be
staggered to provide an exist route. The position usually returns to normal after a few weeks.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

Naturally an examination to determine that a queen is present in the brood chamber will have
to be carried out.

The Flora
Msasa (Brachystegia speciformis) will continue to flower providing nectar.
Others include
Jacaranda

Silk Oak

Erythina (Kaffirboom) Coral Tree

Kirkia accumuata
Parinaria mobola
Terminalia spp
Ziziphus micronata
Pride of Madeira

Flamboyant
Aust Flame
Elderberry
Acacia spp

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

NOVEMBER
The Bees
Honey storage will continue with the bees being very busy until the rains set in. Brood
rearing will be reduced and colonies will not be inclined to swarm although they will stay
strong. Smaller colonies should grown and store enough honey to see them through the rainy
weather. Where swarming has occurred, the bees may exhibit a change of character because
of random mating of young queens with wild drones. Drones will still be found in large
numbers.

The Beekeeper
Care must be taken not to let colonies become overcrowded. Those which swarmed earlier
may well build up again to become overcrowded and liable to swarm unless supers are added.
Apart from providing honey storage space the beekeeper should ensure that the bees have
enough living rom in the hive. Overcrowding in the brood chamber leads to swarming. A
good way to prevent this is to remove two frames of sealed brood and replace with
foundation. Apart from preventing swarming, this move introduces new combs into the brood
nest and if done regularly ensures good combs in the nursery of the hive. Temporary storage
room is needed while bees are making honey during a heavy flow nectar may have up to to
75% moisture and takes up much more space than honey which has less than 20% moisture.

The Flora
Brachystefia boehmii (Mfuti) will start flowering, Privet trees, Natal Mahogany, Proteas and
Jacarandas, will be worked by bees. Other trees include Murwiti, Mukonono, Muzezo, trees
from Brazil and Australia, prickly pear. Pride of India and Virginia creeper.

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

DECEMBER
The Bees
Rainy weather will reduce bee activity and colonies generally will decline in numbers. This is
part if the regular cycle seen in a bee colony and is programmed into our bees as an
adaptation to the environment. They will continue storing honey if weather conditions are
favourable. Prolonged rains will mean drone rearing will cease and drones will be eliminated
from the hives. New swarms will need feeding to get well established.

The Beekeeper
Honey cropping should be completed before the rains set in and care should be taken that
moisture is not absorbed from the damp air to spoil the honey. Gains will be small but honey
should not be extracted in wet weather as it is hygroscopic, absorbs moisture from the air and
becomes runny. Spare supers should be removed from hives that are not occupying all the
space as unoccupied combs are places where wax moth larvae get well established and can
cause the bees to leave the hive. This is bad management and only the beekeeper is to blame.
Stored supers should be put away clean (Propolis removed) and dry (let bees lick them after
honey is extracted). Eggs etc, of wax-moth may be killed by deep-freezing for a few days, or
fumigants maybe used but these are dangerous. Acetone in a saucer in a pile of supers kills
larvae quickly. Moths may be discouraged by placing mothballs (naphthalene) between the
frames of each super. Reduce frames to 8 in each super and separate each with a few sheets of
newspaper.
Black ants will be a nuisance so treat the soil round the hives with Ant-kill taking care that
no bees are killed. A dilute solution applied frequently is better than one application of strong
poison. Grass and weed must be controlled by hoeing or cutting after dark with smoke being
used to keep the bees under control. Sheets of asbestos, galvanised iron or plastic on the
ground will prevent weeds growing. Bees do not like the smell of Khaki-bos and these must
not be crushed near the hives where bees are working. Hive stands need attention before soil
gets wet and soft in the rins and bricks maybe used as firm supports. Hives should slope
forward to prevent water from lying on the floorboard. Each hive should be checked after
swarming has stopped, to ensure that each has a queen present. Losses can occur after
swarming particularly where hives are closed together in the bee-house and virgin queens

A BEE KEEPERS DIARY

may drift into the wrong hives after their nuptial flight. Three dimensional objects near each
entrance are better than flat pointed designs on the wall stones, plants or poles may be used.

The Flora
Ablaze autunesiana, Albizzia amara, Acacia galpincii (Whitethorn), Acacia siberiana
(Umbrella thorn), Acacia karro (Sweet thorn), Acacia rehmanniana, Acacia camplyacantha
(hook thorn), Acacia macrothyrs, Erachystegia boemii (Mfuti, Prince of Wales feather),
Burkia Africa (Wild Syringa), Bauhinnia spp, Combretum spp, Clerodendrum glabrum,
Clerodendrum mopane, Cassia abbrevita (Lnong pod cassia), Dolbergia malanoxylon (Africa
blackwood), Diporhynchus candy-locarpan (Rhodesia rubber tree), Dispryas mesipiliformis
(Rhodesia Ebony), Grewia oblique (Donky berry), Garden asperula (Wild gardenia), and so
on.