Spring Beekeeping Tips
On particularly sunny days in very early spring, my honeybees will come out of their coldweather cluster formation just long enough to take “cleansing flights” — also known as bathroom breaks. Seeing them out flying like this is certainly reassuring. After all, that means they’ve made it through the worst of winter. But early and mid-spring offer their own challenges.
With heavy rains — or even snows — and the occasional cold snap, spring weather is unpredictable. This unpredictability affects the timing and quality of pollen and nectar supplies. It also affects your bees’ ability to get out and forage safely. Because now is the time for the queen to ramp up production of new bees, having a steady source of nectar and pollen is imperative. And if your bees still have new honeycomb to draw out, they’ll need even more nectar to help fuel that labor-intensive process.
Check their honey stores to see how much of the sweet stuff they have left. Beekeepers with Langstroth hives sometimes do this by lifting individual supers to see how heavy they feel. If a hive body feels light, the bees may have gone through most of their stores already. Beekeepers using top-bar hives can choose a warm day to take a quick peek inside to check their bees’ rations.
For my part, I prefer to make visual confirmation. I once had a Langstroth hive starve even though they had plenty of honey reserves. I saw row after row of dead bees, their heads plunged into empty cells. And just inches away? Lots of honey-filled comb. So, if you can, eyeball their supplies, and make sure they’re using them. Depending on the quality of the nectar flow in your area, you may want to give your bees a boost with spring feeding.
Incidentally, although I didn’t used to get excited about crocuses and other spring-flowering bulbs, I now see their value. I’ve planted many of these near my hives, because their early blooms provide bees with a nice snack close to home.
As temperatures become more predictably warm and increasing numbers of bees need to come and go, you can remove entrance reducers. If you haven’t already, you’ll also want to check the hive for signs of Varroa mites and other pests. As you inspect, make sure the queen is present, healthy and laying, too.
If you don’t readily see her, finding recently laid eggs is the next best thing. Check the laying pattern as well as the total amount of capped and uncapped brood to get a feel for her performance. If she is underperforming, your bees may be planning to replace her. If she is up to snuff, it’s up to you to make sure the hive doesn’t feel pressed for space.
To do this in a Langstroth hive, move some frames of brood comb and accompanying nurse bees into the super above. You can also strategically insert empty, drawn comb in place of the brood comb you just moved. For top-bar hives, you can encourage bees to expand by adding empty, drawn combs toward the back of the hive body.
Providing your bees with room to expand won’t necessarily quell their urge to swarm, so be on the lookout for swarm cells. If you find these — complete with eggs or larvae — it just might be time to expand your apiary. As long as your original queen is strong and access to nectar and pollen are still plentiful, spring is a great time to work with your bees’ natural instincts to create splits. — Susan Brackney