02/01/2024
UPDATE:
I am out of honey until the spring flow gets pulled/processed….usually late May/early June. Thanks to all who have stopped by the honey stand.
17 of 18 hives (I inherited two late in the year) have survived the winter so far. Most of the hives have way more bees than previous years. This sounds good but it is a difficult balance. If not enough, they can’t maintain the hive temperature (95 degrees). If too many, their food stores run out. I have been supplementing their honey stores. Feb/Mar are the toughest months!
Couple other misc activities this time of year.
Buy Queen Bees - if a hive makes it through winter strong, beekeepers split the hives and add an another queen (make two hives). If you don’t, they will most likely do it themselves (swarm). You also requeen hives when the queen is about 3ish years old. For a beekeeper, it is always better to manage it than let the bees do it themselves. They will replace old queens and/or swarm - both of these things results in a break in brood production and less honey. Getting queen bees earlier in the spring can be difficult unless you order early. I kinda make a guess/estimate and hope I’m close! Some beekeepers raise queens (queen rearing) but it’s just too much work for me right now.
Prep woodenware - all the hive boxes that are used for honey (honey supers) extra hive boxes (brood boxes/deeps), and extra frames to replace broken ones all need prepped/cleaned and staged for the spring. For me, it’s about 40 boxes and 425 frames - quick estimate. A decent amount of work!
Mite Treatment - it’s a constant battle! This time of the year, I use oxalic acid v***r. It can’t pe*****te capped brood (cells with eggs/larvae) which is where mites attach themselves but this time of the year there isn’t any brood!
