Category: Monthly advice

DOC’s monthly advice

Spring feeding

I’ve just taken off all the feeders in my apiaries and rearranged any remnants of fondant so that the bees will clear this away. No inspections yet but I sneaked a quick view when treating for varroa, dribbling Varoamed up and down each seem where the bees were visible. I’ve not tried this treatment before and used a tray of Apiguard in one hive so I can make some sort of comparison.

Making an inspection of the activity at the hive entrance will give you some guide to the activity going on inside the colony. It’s difficult to tell whether bees are returning with nectar but it is a wondrous sight when they return with bulging pollen bags on their hind legs. This may be an indication that the Queen has started laying and there are pupae to be fed.

My aim in feeding is to give the winter bees the energy to go out foraging as well as feeding the emerging workforce. Lynfa Davies offers a word of caution, because you don’t want to trigger too rapid a growth. She says that this can result in colonies swarming as soon as the weather warms up.

If you live in or pass through the countryside keep your eyes open for the flowers that are emerging. Blackthorn is the first to show in my part of Gower and on the hills by me there is plenty of gorse which honeybees use their magic to make them explode in a cloud of pollen as well as the steady working of catkins of various sorts.

Preparing for winter

After you have removed the last honey harvest you will need to turn your attention to the nutritional needs of your bees over the winter.

The winter period starts at the end of August and continues until the end of December. Preparing the colony for winter is most important.There is much to consider. It can’t all be done in a single visit to the apiary.

  • A colony will need to be checked for disease – particularly the presence of varroa. If the varroa mite count is high then the colony needs to be treated.
  • The beekeeper wants each colony to be producing the majority of its winter bees when the varroa count is as low as possible to ensure that mites do not damage these long lived winter bees.
  • Bees die from damp and lack of food.They can usually withstand the cold.The colony needs through ventilation.
  • If you have a hive with a large brood chamber then it is possible to overwinter with just the brood box. With a National box it is better to have a super on the colony full of feed (ideally honey).
  • Preparing the colony for winter will include feeding to ensure there are enough stores. and also removing the queen excluder.
  • Mouse guards are put in place before any frosts to prevent mice and other small mammals hibernating in the colony.
  • Plastic bags or wire screens are needed where there are woodpecker problems. 

Online advice: The Beekeeping Year by Lynfa Davies

Next time: DOC talks about winter feeding.

February 2025

This is a hazardous month for our colonies and without opening up the hive we can’t know for sure what is happening inside. Resist the temptation -but observe from outside.

The amount of daylight is increasing every day even if the ambient temperature continues to take dips. Some workers may be tempted to make foraging flights in addition to ‘cleansing’ and removal of dead bees. If they bring in pollen, this may fool the queen into an early start of egg laying. The worker bees then must look after the nursery and this can lead to the rapid deletion of stores. Look at the varroa board to see if uncapping debris is accumulating.

Heft the hive to see if the colony needs feeding. This is a bit of an art rather than a science. Can you really remember how heavy that hive was when you last hefted it?

If there has been no activity at the front of a hive on a mild day when the sun has warmed up the hive entrance, alarm bells may be ringing. This may be the exception to the rule of leaving well alone. Lift the roof and look for evidence of activity. I leave a piece of perspex over the hole in the crown board to look through. The bees may of course have clustered away from this source of colder air. If you have first inspected the varroa board you will know where the cluster is. Quickly lift the crown board – are the bees where you expect them to be. If all is quiet, have a sniff. Any unpleasant smells may indicate a problem. Perhaps the smell of mould or worse still a smell like acetic acid which catches your throat like vinegar. You need advice!! More than I can give here.

Jobs for the month

Now is the time to check that stored supers have not been infested by wax moth. If you have not already done so, get the blow torch out and clean up the corners of the boxes. If there is wax damage on frames then remove all signs of the moths. Better still, remove the frames from the box.