Thoughts on this month in beekeeping by Janine Sparks
MAY 2026
Well, what curious weather in April – some lovely warm spring days, and some really cold ones, and the diurnal range some days has been huge. One minute my thermals were packed up in the drawer, the next day they were out again. The bees must be equally confused – one minute in a cluster and the next day it’s everyone out to forage! Coming into May, let’s hope for more stability.
I have at least been into my bees a couple of times now but it has been a case of being on standby all month and getting out there when the temperature felt ok. Colonies seem to be building up fairly quickly and there have been some early swarms, 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. 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, it is a boring bit of beekeeping, but I find it so helpful.
3. Check the Larder
Well the bees are spoilt for choice at the moment. Forget me knots, my apple and pear trees are flowering abundantly, the ceanothus is beautiful. I noticed holly in flower today on my dog walk. Oil seed rape is around too – get your honey processed quickly if you have it nearby before it sets rock hard! Plenty of dandelions about too!
Enjoy your bees!
