Episode 12 has been published, and can be found over at my Podbean page.
This week, I'm talking about preparing for Spring, and the new things I can expect to face as I go into my second year of beekeeping.
Mentions:
The Hive Jive Podcast, and their Patreon account.
Girl Next Door Honey, and her excellent Queenspotting book.
Sources:
The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition, Kim Flottum
Honey Bee Biology & Beekeeping, Dewey M. Caron, Lawrence John Connor
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I was listening to Episode 41 of the Hive Jive (‘Initial checklist for your second year’), and I realised that I had overlooked a few things in my excitement to get back to my bees. John mentioned in this ep that, going into your second year of beekeeping, you need to decide what your priority is: bees or honey. Depending on whether you’re looking to expand your colonies or maximize your honey harvest, your management focus will be different.
Now, I’ve said a number of times that I am in this for the bees, and that’s why I’ve been planning on splitting my two strongest hives, should they come through winter in good shape. These two splits, plus the package of Saskatraz bees I ordered, will give me a total of six hives (assuming all three make it through winter; please oh please!).
If I go ahead and split two hives, I am decreasing the chances of them swarming during Spring build up, but also decreasing their honey harvest. And I find that I am concerned with getting at least some honey this year because a/ it’s delicious and I love the stuff, and b/ I received a honey extractor for Xmas and I am desperate to try it out!! I also really want to expand my knowledge base and honey is an integral part of beekeeping.
So perhaps I’ll split the largest of the three colonies and carefully manage the others for a good honey harvest. We shall see!
First, I decided to take stock of what equipment I have, and what I will need.
What’s in use currently for each hive:
What I have in storage:
2x honey supers with frames (new, need decorating)
1x honey super with frames (ready to go)
1x deep with frames (ready to go)
1x solid bottom board (new, needs painting)
1x screened bottom board (ready to go)
1x inner cover
1x outer cover
Pollen substitute
Sugar for syrup
What I need:
1x bottom board (removable tray/screen preferred)
2x inner cover
2x outer cover
4-5 deeps
Feeders (mason jars, top feeder, etc)
Lots and lots of sugar syrup (1:1)
Small spray bottle (for spritzing package bees and/or swarms)
Bee brush
Extra hive tool
Nitrile gloves
½ cup measure (for mite tests)
Mite treatment
I also considered whether I should go ahead and purchase a top bar hive for this coming season.
Pros:
New toy!!
Cut comb honey
‘Natural’
Learning new skills
Easy on my back!!
Cons:
Learning new skills!
Hard(er) to overwinter
Delicate
All new equipment needed
No comb on hand to encourage build/stay put
Different feeding method
Considering all of this, I went to the books to get a feel for what a second year Spring looks like, and it’s all about staying one step ahead of your bees!
Assuming colonies made it through winter strong and healthy, build up can be shockingly fast in the Spring, and providing adequate space is essential. In ‘The Backyard Beekeeper’, author Kim Flottum recommends making sure all colonies have a minimum of 2 deep/brood boxes in early Spring. In hindsight, this is where I went wrong last year; I didn’t add extra boxes until a little late so my colonies risked becoming honey bound (see early episodes for discussion on this).
Early Spring Inspections & what to look for:
Monitor food (syrup or fondant, depending on weather)
Check for varroa and consider oxalic acid treatment, if needed (minimal brood)
When warm enough, remove boxes and clean bottom board/screen
Remove mouse guard (when there is consistent daily flight activity)
Remove shim and candyboard
Place inner cover flat side down
If bottom box is empty of bees, move upper box with bees down (box reversal)
Add additional deep box (with drawn comb, if possible)
If box of honey left, put on bottom, bees in the middle, empty box on top
Mindful that bees will expand upwards
1/ Early Spring Checklist
Check remaining food stores (do they have enough to get through to nectar flow?)
Brood will increase with daylight hours so colony will need pollen (their protein)
Examine dead colonies for signs of disease, especially American Foulbrood
Wax/comb can be reused if no disease found
Colonies can expand rapidly during this period
Small colonies can run through their food and starve
Feed sugar syrup (1:1); don’t let it run out
Reversal of hive bodies to expand the brood area (top to bottom)
Do not reverse if brood spread between 2 boxes
Sometimes the above can be due to honey stores preventing expansion; check to see
Check hives regularly
Bees generally build comb in center frames; switch with outer frames to encourage even build (or they can ‘chimney’ up through all boxes); do not separate brood frames
Let the colony’s progress guide you
Young(er) queens tend to be more prolific
If slow expansion, consider re-queening
2/ Mid-Spring Checklist
Critical time!
Colonies without enough food stores can perish; more likely at this point
Brood nest should have doubled in size
For every cell with eggs, there should be twice as many with larvae, and four times as many capped
Adult population should be enough to cover brood cells/frames
Minimum 2-3 frames of honey
Pollen stores within and on edges of brood area
Active bee flight (weather permitting)
No disease (or treatment in progress)
Look for queen cups
Mid-Spring is when swarming is most likely to happen. Why is this?
Swarming is motivated by:
Perceived limited space
Lots of brood (including drones)
Large population of adult bees (including drones)
aging/older queen (diminished or spotty pheromones)
Strong nectar flow
Cooperative weather
Colonies most likely to swarm:
Have come through winter strong and healthy
Have good food stores and population
Have a 1 year old+ queen
Signs that swarming has been initiated:
Egg laying slows or stops
QUEEN CUPS
Little or no open brood
Less activity in brood nest overall
Queen cups don’t mean you should panic; they are a normal Spring sight and don’t necessarily mean your colony will swarm. However, a CAPPED queen cell means you might have missed your chance to prevent them swarming. If you find queen cells that have not yet been capped, you still have a chance to stop the swarm, although nothing is ever guaranteed with bees.
Swarm prevention:
Provide plenty of room for egg laying in brood nest (2+ deep boxes)
Ensure sufficient nectar storage space (honey supers!)
Maximum sunlight & sufficient ventilation (ideal ‘home’ environment)
Young queens
Swarm control:
Removing/caging queen to create a brood break (also good varroa mite control)
Removing brood (giving frames to weaker colonies; splits; making nucs)
Separation of brood from queen (the Demaree method); involves rearranging colony so queen is on bottom with just a few frames of sealed brood; queen excluder on top; then honey super; then remaining brood in top box
3/ Late Spring
Pre-flow management aka preparing for honey!
Stay one step ahead; provide ample space
When 3rd box has 3-4 frames of built comb, 2-3 of brood, with pollen and honey on edges, add honey super! (queen excluder above 3rd box, if using)
Flow can be fast so have honey supers ready to go!
When 1st honey super has honey stored in 4-5 frames, add 2nd super
For more info on preparing for the nectar flow, see my episode on all things honey; episode #7!
Authors of ‘Honey Bee Biology & Beekeeping’ sum things up rather well with the following quote:
“Successful colony management is a complex application of art and science that begins with understanding bee biology and skillful use of information to meet beekeeper objectives. Timing is everything.”
So no pressure!
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Thank you for reading (and listening)!
You can find me at HomesteadHensandHoney on Instagram and Facebook; HomesteadHens on Twitter and Tumblr; and homesteadhensandhoney@gmail.com
As always, hug your hens and then wash your hands! Take care!