Regional Beekeeping Calendar: Month-by-Month Tasks for Your ZIP Code
Every beekeeping calendar you've read was written for someone else's climate. This one starts with yours: it pulls three years of daily weather for your ZIP code, finds your last spring frost, your first fall frost, the day steady foraging weather arrives and your broodless window, then places every task of the beekeeping year against those dates. Mite washes, splits, supers, feeding, winterizing and the two treatment windows that decide whether your bees are alive in February, month by month, for the next twelve months.
Tool Regional Beekeeping Calendar
Temperatures from the ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Flow and bloom dates are estimated from frost dates; compare with your local bee club's bloom calendar and adjust.
How the dates are set
| Anchor | How it's found | What hangs on it |
|---|---|---|
| Foraging weather begins | First stretch after February 1 with ten straight days of highs at 55°F or more | First full inspection, first mite wash, spring feeding |
| Last spring frost | Last night at or below 32°F, typical of the last three springs | Swarm season, package installs, splits, supering, the estimated main flow |
| First fall frost | First night at or below 32°F, typical of the last three falls | Winter-bee rearing (starts about 75 days before), the "mites down by" date (about 90 days before), fall feeding, mouse guards, winterizing |
| Broodless window | Sustained cold or a hard freeze shuts down laying; the last brood emerges about two weeks later; laying restarts around January 10 | The frame check and the single oxalic acid vaporization that reaches every mite |
The main flow is estimated as three to nine weeks after the last frost, which fits most of the temperate US where the tulip poplar, black locust, clover and basswood sequence follows the last frost by about that much. Desert, coastal and mountain regions can differ; the calendar is a starting point, your bees and your club are the final word.
The one date that matters most. "Mites under control by" is about 90 days before your first frost, because the bees raised from then on are your winter bees and they have to be raised by a colony with low mites. Everything before that date is preparation; everything after it is damage control. Details in why colonies die in January.
Frequently asked questions
How is this calendar different from a generic beekeeping calendar?
It is anchored to your climate. The tool pulls the last three years of daily temperatures for your location and derives your last spring frost, first fall frost, the start of steady foraging weather and your broodless window, then places every task relative to those dates instead of to a calendar month.
What is the most important date on the calendar?
The date your mites need to be under control before the colony starts raising winter bees, which is about three months before your first fall frost. In most of the US that is early-to-mid August. Colonies that go into winter-bee rearing with high mite counts are the colonies that die in January.
Will the calendar tell me when my honey flow is?
It estimates the main flow from your frost dates, which works for most temperate regions where the spring flow follows the last frost by a few weeks. Local bloom calendars vary, so compare it with what your bee club reports and adjust.
Does the calendar work outside the United States?
It works anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere with a postal code the lookup recognizes (US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands), or with your device's location. Southern Hemisphere seasons are reversed and are not supported yet.
Can I get the calendar as reminders on my phone?
Yes. Download the .ics file and every task lands on your calendar as an all-day event with a reminder the night before. It opens in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook.
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Related reading
- The oxalic acid treatment schedule, month by month
- How to do a mite wash
- When to reduce your hive entrance
- Winter bees and why colonies die in January
- Spring buzz: a guide for mid-Atlantic beekeepers
Two treatment windows a year. Be ready for both.
A late-summer series and one shot in the broodless window is the whole plan for most apiaries. An InstantVap oxalic acid vaporizer, a bag of EZ-OX and an Easy-Check cover it. The InstantVap Sizer picks the model.
General beekeeping information from Lorob Bees, not a substitute for a product label or your state apiary inspector. Always read and follow the label of any product you use in a hive.