Beekeeping tips for May:
Below are my tips I wrote last year. If the abysmally poor weather continues (I write this in early April),
plan to feed your bees to prevent starvation and to provide build-up for when the weather finally turns
around. Although quite rare , feeding well into summer has been required in past years according to
“Old Time” beekeepers.
Like last month, the overriding objective is for all colonies to be queen-right, healthy, and well fed so they can
build up to maximum populations for the onset of the major nectar flow. May is the transition month into the
major nectar flow; there are many tasks to be done.
Light hives can still starve if the weather turns bad. Make sure hives have at least 2 or 3 frames of honey. After
the maples and fruit trees bloom there is actually a decrease in available nectar until the summer nectar flow
begins in earnest.
Swarming is at its zenith in May (end of April too), so continue swarm control practices. The old saying holds
true (well, almost): a swarm caught in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm caught June is worth a silver spoon;
and a swarm caught in July ain't worth a fly.
Keep a nuc box at the ready with one or two drawn frames (preferable dark) and the balance foundation for
swarms. Pour some honey or sugar water on the frames before you knock the bees in. They'll stick!
Consider setting up decoy hives (just like the nuc box above) to catch stray swarms in your apiary.
Make sure the mice can't get in!
More on swarms… Decreasing queen pheromone production and its distribution within the hive triggers the
swarm impulse, so the two best ways to reduce swarming are to regularly requeen (young queens produce
more pheromones) and to reduce congestion (reversing, equalizing, splits).
Visually look at colonies for health – are they actively foraging and bringing in pollen? Investigate why colonies
are not performing well. Has it become queenless and developed laying workers? Does it have a disease like
AFB, or Nosema? Are they raising a supercedure queen? Did it swarm? Take appropriate action. If you don't
know what to do, go to your next beekeepers' association meeting and ask.
Look for signs that it is time to super, e.g., the bees loose interest in sugar syrup, you couldn't make the bees
rob if you wanted to, there's new, white wax on the frames.
ive bees abundant room for storing honey early in the season (it's opposite in late season; we crowd them).
I consider two supers as abundant. If paradichlorobenzene crystlals were used for wax moth control, air out
supers prior to supering.
Beekeeping tips for April:
Each spring we need to verify that colonies are queenright, healthy, and well fed so they
can build up to maximum populations by mid to late May. During this inspection we
need to do some “cleaning” within the hive itself.
-Remove mouse guards.
-Heft hives. Provide feed to light hives.
-Remove wax from the top bars.
-Remove burr comb between frames and replace low grade comb. Always start on the
outside and work in. Create more space between frames by removing an outside frame to
reduce the chance of accidentally crushing the queen.
-Verify presence of eggs and brood (always be on the lookout for foulbrood). A strong,
healthy hive with lots of brood and a solid brood pattern are indicators of a good queen.
-Requeen any failing hive or plan to when queens are available.
-Swap out the bottom board for a clean, dry one.
-Reverse the brood boxes (most important if the cluster has moved to the second brood
box and against the lid). One caveat: always try to keep the brood together; isolated,
satellite areas of brood may not be covered by the cluster and become chilled and die.
-Transfer bees into new equipment if necessary.
-Keep the grass mowed in front of hives. This promotes ventilation and easy access for
foragers.
Continue to look for signs of Nosema-infection (see last month’s tips). Provide
fumagillin medicated sugar syrup to suspected cases. Affects of Nosema include reduced
bee life spans, increased supercedures, colony death, slow spring build up, and reduced
honey yields.
According to the OSBA Honey Bee Pests and Diseases Update, April is an ideal month
to test for Nosema infestation levels. Adult bees are collected and sent to a lab equipped
to do the counts. Try the new lab available for free at OSU.
Consider the use of plain extender patties for tracheal mite control (two parts sugar to one
part vegetable shortening). Place patty in the middle of two-story colony, or on the top of
a single story.
If you want to give your hives a boost begin stimulating feeding 6 weeks prior to the
major nectar flow (21 days for worker to develop, 23 days before she starts foraging).
April is the best time to make splits if your goal is to make a honey crop from the new
starts. It should be mentioned that making splits is a form of varroa control, for it sets the
mites back. Some drawbacks for making splits in April: well mated queens are not
always available, and additional feeding may be required compared to startups in May.
Consider adding disease fee dead-out brood boxes to booming two-story hives in
anticipation of making splits with them when your queens arrive. This will protect the
combs, reduce congestion and lesson the swarm impulse, and make an excellent division
later.
If you plan to super remember the withdrawal time requirements for medications and
mite treatments. Tylosin requires a rest period greater than 4 weeks before the first
marketable nectar flow. Also, if you use paradichlorobenzene for moth control, air out
supers on a warm day to vaporize residues of paradichlorobenzene.
Swarm season starts. With the flush of new growth on plants and trees, swarms are not
far behind. Nuc boxes containing one dark frame, one frame of honey and pollen, and
the balance foundation are ideal for catching swarms. A sugar water film (or honey)
inside the nuc and on the frames will make it doubly attractive and will provide resources
to build new comb fast.
Wax moth activity dramatically picks up when the temperatures rise. Keep an extra eye
out for frames that have had brood and have pollen. Moth crystals (paradichlorobenzene)
can be used for control, as well as freezing the frames. Exposing the frames to light can
inhibit the moths too. |