spring We conduct health checks, and even out our broods and bees to make the colonies uniform before the first warm weather of April. By then, the colonies are well  developed. We also begin production of artificial swarms. When the acacia blossoms in early May, we place our shallow boxes for collecting honey and metal grills for propolis, and start producing royal jelly.
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 summer After harvesting the acacia honey, we move some hives to the mountains for the chestnut and linden honeys, leaving others in the low lying hills for production of millefiori. We continue raising artificial swarms and queens for use in breeding. At the end of summer, after the millefiori, the bees continue collecting honeydew, from which we obtain woods honey. | |
autumn By now the productive season is over. We carry out new health checks and treat infestations of Varroa destructor (a parasite of bees). We also substitute some of the old queens with younger and more productive ones, and make sure the colonies have sufficient reserves of honey for the winter. We  then begin processing, packaging and marketing our products.
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