FEBRUARY 2026
Well what a wash out January has been, and no sign of a respite for a while. I have, however, seen the odd bee popping out in the drier and warmer spells, which gives me hope!
The days are also getting noticeably longer, thank heavens.
I recently added more fondant to my bees and will do a quick tour of my colonies if the weather warms up a bit to see if they are flying. Difficult to know if I have winter losses so far, because I haven’t intruded more than necessary when topping up the fondant for fear of introducing a cold blast into the hive: roof up, fondant in, roof down, retreat!
What is going on in the hive?
By now, your colonies will be planning ahead when it will need new bees to replace the overwintering bees that will die out – so the colony needs to plan around 6 weeks ahead, bearing in mind that typically a worker bee takes 21 days to emerge, and will be busy with housework and guarding duties for a further 21 days until she turns to foraging duties. So an egg laid now will become a useful forager in 6 weeks’ time when it will be mid-March and spring will hopefully be springing.
With this in mind, the queen will start laying if she hasn’t already, so there will be an increased need for warmth in the hive, and extra mouths to feed, at the same time as a declining of foraging bees as the old bees die out, and some chilly weather. So always a tricky time and a nervous one for me!
The weather has been chilly on and off (and very wet) and the forecast is for more of the same for the foreseeable future.
Check your hives
It is much too early to do a full inspection of your hives of course and if the forecast is correct, it is unlikely that there will be flyable days bearing in mind the temperature and the never ending rain! All I am doing with my bees is keeping them topped up with fondant, making sure my colonies are upright and that the entrance is not blocked with dead bees.
Get ready for silly season
If you haven’t done so yet, it really is time now to get all the kit out of the bee shed and see what you are missing for the season ahead. You will need frames made up with fresh foundation, spare hives or nucs at the ready. So this is just an audit at this stage, but make a plan to get things ready to go, you will be glad you did. I am making this my focus over the next couple of weeks, having just booked up for the BBKA Spring Convention in April. Any kit in need of replacement will be bought there are trade show prices!
Check the larder
I had a wander round my garden this week to see what forage is around for my bees, and I have been keeping an eye out on my dog walks. Catkins (an excellent source of pollen), snowdrops, mahonia, a few early crocus, winter honeysuckle and winter jasmine. So there is a bit of forage around if the bees are able to get out. The sight of these and the ever lighter evenings gives me so much hope that spring is on its way!
