MAY 2025
Well what a glorious April we had. It feels like I was waiting and waiting to get into my bees, then boom, it is all go! Colonies building up very quickly, early signs of swarming (I have done two preventative splits), flowers opening thick and fast!
1. What is going on in the hive?
The queen is busily laying well now, and the size of the colony will be growing rapidly. Your workers should be busy bringing in nectar and pollen. The worker bees are likely to be new bees this year with the overwintered bees having died off by now. If you have an older queen, or are lacking in space, swarm preparations may commence!
2. Check your hives
One of the most important things to do is to make sure your bees have plenty of room – so prepare spare supers so that you can pop one on before they need it. Running out of space is one of the reasons why a colony will swarm, so avoid space being a problem and add a super if in doubt!
You should be into regular inspections now, once a week is ideal because you want to find any queen cells before they are capped (after 8 days), which is when a colony will swarm. Now if you see queen cells – put your ready-prepared action plan into play immediately. Don’t just remove the queen cells – it may delay swarming but it won’t stop it, and if you miss a craftily hidden queen cell, they will be off as soon as it is capped!!
In your regular inspections:
- Do you see the queen or evidence of the queen (eggs, larvae brood in all stages)
- What does the brood pattern look like? If it is patchy it could indicate that the queen is failing, or a brood disease.
- Look out for evidence of disease
- What is the temperament like?
- Do you see drones?
- Do you see queen cells? Have your swarm prevention plan to hand and be ready to manage this situation.
- Are there sufficient stores – nectar and pollen
- Is there enough room? If in doubt, add another super!
Don’t forget to keep records updated!
3. Check the Larder
Well the bees are spoilt for choice at the moment. Along with the bluebells, forget me knots, and laurel, my apple and pear trees are also flowering like never before. Oil seed rape is around too – get your honey processed quickly if you have it nearby before it sets rock hard! It seems to have been a particularly good year for dandelions too!
Enjoy your bees!
Photos (c) Janine Sparks