Hello beekeeper!
Longer day length triggers honey bee queens to increase egg production. Your honey bee colonies have likely been slowly building brood population since Winter Solstice. Ideally, they will reach peak population when blackberries are blooming later in the year. They may need your help getting there, so here are some things to consider:
Monitor Food Supply
Your bees are most likely to starve in March, and things can get precarious even in February. You should be lifting the hive once every week or so to monitor the change in weight. If it starts feeling light, the best thing to feed at this time of year is still dry sugar (either Drivert or granulated). When the daytime temperatures are regularly above about 55°, it’s safe to feed one-to-one (one part sugar to one part water by weight or volume) sugar syrup. The colony may respond to a patch of sunny weather to build up a bit, and then quickly eat through their stores when our unpredictable spring weather brings stints of rainy days. Watch your colonies closely when rainy weather keeps them from being able to forage, especially toward the end of the month.
Hive Check
Do your first hive check sometime around President’s Day (February 20th), when the weather is nice enough for the bees to be flying. You want to quickly assess the food situation, the location of the cluster, and look for brood without exposing it to the cold too much. If the bottom box in your colony is empty, put it on top of the upper box. (Do not do this if there is brood in the bottom box – it’s still too cold to divide the brood nest.) If the cluster is high up in the colony, provide plenty of supplemental sugar. Clean your bottom board of debris while you have it apart.
Mite Check
It’s not too early to start monitoring for mites! While you are in the colony, take a 300 bee sample (approx. half cup) and do either a powdered sugar shake or alcohol wash to determine the mite load. The number of mites in your colony will likely double every 3-4 weeks for the rest of the season, so strive to start with a low mite count. Reducing the mites this time of year will pay huge dividends for your colony. You will have more bees, healthier bees, a better honey harvest, and a much greater chance of surviving another year. A good treatment is Formic Pro, a formic acid treatment with a long shelf life of 24 months and no temperature requirements for storage. Be sure to follow label instructions closely for any treatments you put in the colony.
Wax Moth Control
This time of year, wax moths can utterly destroy your valuable drawn frames. To control the damage, remove dead out boxes as soon as possible. Brush them clean and freeze them to destroy wax moth eggs and larvae. Watch stored equipment for infestations and freeze when necessary.
Hive Health Assessment
Late February is the time to open up your hive(s) and assess the health of your bees. Even if it appears your hive survived, you should do a queen check. Examine the middle 3 frames of the colony and check out the queen’s egg and larva laying pattern. You want to see a good pattern of eggs, with little to no skips (empty cells with no eggs in the brood chamber area). If all is well, you can begin to feed sugar syrup or protein patties to kick start colony growth. Remember, feeding pollen early will produce young bees in 3 weeks. Make a decision if you think the queen is healthy and young enough to make it another year. If her health looks disparaged, you can replace the failing queen in the beginning to mid- April.
Hive Clean Up
If your hive didn’t make it through the winter you will need to clean out all the dead bees and any mold or fungus that is in the hive. Pollen frames may have mold, so all the ruined wax must be scraped out. If you have Rite Cell foundation or plastic frames you can put that frame back in the hive after you’ve scraped off all the ruined wax. If you use wax foundation you’ll need to re-wax the frame.
Good Time to Prepare
What are your plans for your colonies? If you want to make splits later in the spring, you may want to have some protein patties on hand for helping the bees build up during March. Order package bees and nucs if necessary. Repair and purchase equipment. Get ready – spring is almost here!
Now is a Great Time to Start
If you are starting a new hive now is the time to build! Assemble your hive boxes and equipment well ahead of time. It is hard work! If you plan to paint your hive boxes, exterior latex paint is a good way to go. As far as colors, almost any pastel color is fine, just avoid red which the bees cannot see and any dark colors that will overheat the hive during summer. Painting is not required, but will make the wood last much longer and has visual appeal.
CLASS OPPORTUNITY
Getting into Beekeeping – Hybrid Class
Thursday, February 23rd at 11am
Instructor: Camille Dill
Interested in keeping bees but unsure how to get started? This class will provide you with an understanding of the financial and time requirements associated with beekeeping, basic tools and equipment, basic hive biology, and frequently asked questions about bees and their care. But most importantly it will fuel your passion for keeping these amazing creatures in your own backyard!
PRE-ORDER LIVE BEES
Shonnard’s is your source for live bees and hive equipment! If you’re adding hives or replacing dead boxes, then you have the option of ordering nucleus hives or bee packages.
Stop in, shop online, or give us a call at 541-929-3524 to place your pre-order for live bees.