1. September can bring cooler weather and some moisture—or more scorching heat. Either way, continue to focus on maintaining 30 pounds of stored food for your bees.
2. Test for mites, as mite populations can begin to climb, necessitating another mite treatment. If you have two or fewer mites per 100 bees, treatment isn’t necessary. However, if you do have two mites or slightly more per 100 bees, hold off on treating yet monitor closely and test again in October.
3. September begins the rearing of winter bees. Worker bees rear two kinds of bees—spring/summer bees and winter bees. Spring/summer bees are almost disposable and are not fed quite the same diet. During those months, bees work so hard that they work themselves to death in a matter of weeks; thus, they are reared on a less-than-ideal diet. Winter bees are fed as close to a perfect diet as possible to ensure they are able to survive the entire winter. As beekeepers, it is crucial that we provide the bees with all the food and nutrition needed for our bees to rear the healthiest possible winter bees. We recommend feeding at least two pounds of pollen substitute each month from September to November to guarantee that sufficient nutrition is available.
4. If you want to requeen your hive, September is a great time to do so. This will be the last month queens are available, so take advantage of the final opportunity to requeen if your queen is over a year old.

Introducing The Bee Supply Replacement Sticky Board, perfect for checking mite counts after treatment. Our branded boards come with easy-to-follow instructions on the back for simple use. Quick and easy test with no need to open the hive to read results.

Mint flowers attract many pollinators—honey bees included! They are rich in nectar and also release pollen starting in summer, lasting well into fall. Photo courtesy TBS customer Aparna Bhat