It is definitely a huge relief and good for my sanity to see my bees flying as we enter Spring. Now, they just need to survive until April when there will be more forage available. Here they were at the weekend, busy bringing in pollen:
And it’s lovely to just sit and watch them:
So far so good. I removed the mouseguard. The hive is still heavy with stores. When the temperatures reach 15C I’ll treat the varroa with Apiguard and open the hive to find out if the old Queen is alive or if they have superceded her. I just need to think about my strategy to expand to three hives this Summer (an artificial swarm and a real swarm would be ideal).
I even managed to find 30 minutes to sit on a bench in the sun with a coffee. My wife tried to get me involved in tidying up the house but I said “pah” to Spring Cleaning and bring on the Spring Dreaming. It definitely did more for my sanity (if not my marital relations).
Read More
- Beekeepers Anonymous – If you are dealing with the grief of losing a bee colony over the Winter, this Beekeepers Support Group page might help
- How-To Guides – Includes feeding bees, varroa management, beekeeping calendar
- Hive Two Record Card – I keep my hive records online
That’s great news Roger, is that the colony that had the huge mite count? Hope you guys have a great spring…Gary
That’s the one. In fact, that’s just the one! Will treat with Apiguard (thymol) when temperatures reach 15C and then look to do split or artificial swarm when the bees cover 7 frames.