Growth

For many beekeepers, the growth stage is early spring. However, the time of year isn't always what dictates what stage your beehive is currently in.

Signs your beehive is in the growth stage:

brood is present and queen is laying (unless recently split, swarmed, was queenless or purchased)
8 or fewer frames (or top bars) of brood
Beehive is 1 box or less
Bees are building comb
Population is increasing
Bees are gathering honey & pollen

Overall, in this stage the hive is small BUT it is increasing week to week in terms of how many bees are in the hive and how much food is in the hive. A great way to determine whether your hive is growing is to fill out an inspection sheet and see how the number of frames of brood and food and changed week-to-week.

Peak

For many beekeepers, the beehive's peak is late spring and early summer. However, the time of year isn't always what dictates what stage your beehive is currently in.

Signs your beehive is in it's peak :

brood is present and queen is laying (unless recently split, swarmed, was queenless or purchased)
10+ frames (or top bars) of brood
Beehive is 2 or more boxes
Population is at it's highest
Frames are covered in bees
Bees are gathering honey & pollen
Honey super is on the hive
Swarm season
Seeing numerous queen cells in the hive

Overall, in this stage, the hive is at the fullest it will ever be for the year. There is a lot of brood in the hive, frames are COVERED in bees, you're seeing queen cells often and the hive is heavy. It may be exhausting inspecting the hive because of the weight of the boxes and hard to move equipment around and see inside the cells due to the overwhelming number of bees EVERYWHERE!

Post Harvest

For many beekeepers, the post harvest stage is late summer. However, the time of year isn't always what dictates what stage your beehive is currently in.

Signs your beehive is in the post harvest stage:

brood is present and queen is laying (unless recently split, swarmed, was queenless or purchased)
8+ frames (or top bars) of brood
Beehive is 2 or more boxes
Population may still be fairly high or beginning to decrease
The beekeeper recently harvested their honey for the year
The main nectar flow has ended
bees may be robbing each other
Overly defensive or aggressive behaviour by the bees

In this stage, the hive is large but the main nectar flow has ended. If the beekeeper is going to harvest honey, it has been done by now. The main nectar flows are over and although there is food to be gathered, there is considerably less.

It is common to see robbing at this time as well as more aggressive behavior by the bees. The population is usually still high at this time, but will be decreasing soon.

Late Season

For many beekeepers, the late season stage is late summer and/or early fall. However, the time of year isn't always what dictates what stage your beehive is currently in.

Signs your beehive is in the late season stage:

small amount of brood is present or no brood present
little food for bees to forage
hive is 1-2 brood boxes
copious amounts of propolis in hive

Overall, in this stage the hive is small and decreasing in hive population and activity at the entrance. In cold climates, this is when you prepare the hive for winter.

Dormant

The formant phase is when daytime temperatures outside are 55F/13C or lower. It is too cold for the bees to actively leave the hive in search for food and water although you may see bees occasionally leaving on warmer, sunny days. In warm climates, bees may not go through a dormant phase.

Signs your beehive is dormant:

little to no activity at entrance
daytime temperatures below 55F/13C

In this stage, there is not much for the beekeeper to do. It is too cold to inspect the hive or conduct a mite test and no treating should need to be done at this time.