HONEY BEE Spring Management

Spring Management  One of the most important things you will do to determine if you have a honey crop or …… not !

Check the overwinter bees early!!  But wait not too early or you will kill them!  Make the first day of visit in late Feb or in March  Do not open the hive unless it is above 50 degrees and not raining or real windy  A wet bee is a dead bee !  You check to make sure they are  A live  Have food  Look healthy “fuzzy and busy”

If the Hive is Dead  Clean out the hive  Try to determine why they died.  If form disease burn the equipment unless you know it is not foul brood  If they starved there will be bees head first into combs.  They may have starved even if there was honey on the outside frames. They might not have broken the cluster to get to it.  Clean equipment to be used ---replace comb with new foundation etc. and get ready to install new bee package with queen  We all get a winter kill hive sometimes do not loose faith --it happens to the best beekeepers. Try to learn why and learn from it.

FEED ME They have just had a whole winter without food sources outside Check and make sure they still have food If they have less than three frames of honey and pollen feed. Hey!! but its cold how do I know ? Well….. just feed them If you used solid feeding make sure there is still some there if low FEED THEM. Use the same stuff you used for winter feeding until……

FEED ME  As soon as the nights will not be below freezing feed 1:1 sugar syrup ( approx. 1lb. Sugar to 16 fluid oz. Water)  Once you start feeding do not stop until you are sure the nectar flow is on  Do not get fooled with a false nectar flow or “start and Stop flow’  Nectar flow depends not only temperature but humidity – to much temperature or to little can shut the nectar flow down.  Use a inline or top board feeder

Top Board Feeder Source: Mannlake bee supply

Boardman feeders sit at the entrance are convenient for short time feeding in the spring Source:

In line frame feeder

Top and Ladder for in line Frame Feeder Source: Ruhl bee supply

“If the hive is strong it may want to swarm Refer to lecture on Swarming  Propagation of hives. It is a Natural Process

What if the Hive is Weak?  Do a Hive inspection to determine this.  A weak hive is considered if 6 or less frames covered with bees at the end of April.  Time also to clean out the hive and look for signs of a productive queen..

Working with Weak Hives  Unite with a strong Colony  Placement exchange of weak with strong colony  Re-Queen

Unite with a strong Colony  Do not do this unless you are sure the weak hive is not diseased!!!!!  Place the strong colony on top of the weak colony with a sheet of newspaper between the two colonies  The bees will chew their way through the paper and unite without fighting  A strong united hive will out produce the two hives buy themselves.  You do not have to kill one of the queens the hive will usually settle this on their own.

Placement exchange of weak with strong colony  This is best done during he nectar flow  Exchange the placement of the week hive with the location of the strong hive and the strong hive were the week hive was  The field bees that are out will come back to the location they left and therefore the strong bee hive field bees will come back to the weak hive that is now in the location of where the strong hive was. Since they will have honey they will be allowed in.  The strong hive will be in the position of the old weak hive location and the fewer field bees from the weak hive will return to the old location. This will help with the swarming prevention of the strong hive.

Re-Queen  When you inspect the hive look for the productivity of the queen.  If pollen is coming in and if you are feeding sugar syrup she should be laying  Look for eggs, brood capped and uncapped  Look for a good laying pattern  If she is weak or no sign of laying re-queen right away.  You may have to kill the old queen to have them accept the new queen.  You re-queen the same way you installed the queen with package bees.

Other things to do during Hive Inspection  Look over the equipment and replace as needed  Discover possible disease problems and do something about it now. “Refer to disease lecture”  Reorient brood combs  Clean hive of winter kill and other things that do not belong  Rotate hive boxes as needed

Minimize Miticide and Chemical Contamination  Test for and treat for mites.  Look for other disease and treat.  Do not put any--repeat any-- treatments with medicine or chemicals when supers are on. FOLLOW the instructions on the label.  Replace old brood frames – use a 5 year rotation – replace 20% per year. Mark each frame with a year mark so you can keep track.

Final Thoughts  Remember spring is THE most important time to make sure all is right with the hive.  Remember to take the sugar syrup away 2 weeks before you supper for the honey you will take.  Sugar water honey is not honey you harvest !!!  Do not over inspect hives. If you inspect the hive every day you will run the risk of damaging the queen and disturbing the hive.  Do not harvest too much pollen or propolis. The need this to be healthy and produce you honey work force  Last –remember honey bees have been around for a long time they know what to do. Observe and enjoy.

Spring management Questions?