Top Tips for April….
As soon as it’s warm enough (16ºC) start inspections of each of your hives and check:
- Is the queen laying?
- Is the hive building up?
- Does the colony have enough space?
- Is there enough food for the time being?
- Are there any queen cells?
- Are there any signs of disease?
If necessary take appropriate action.
Think about which swarm control method you are going to use.
Top Tips for May….
- Carry out 7 day inspections looking for open queen cells with larvae and take swarm control measures
- Make sure you have sufficient supers and add them before the bees need them
- Make sure you have swarm collection equipment to hand and somewhere to put any swarms
- Think about whether you are going to take a spring crop of honey.
Top Tips for June….
- Remove spring honey from the hive if required
- Watch for food shortages this month and feed as necessary. Remove supers if you do this to avoid sugar being stored in the frames
- Continue to monitor hives for pending swarms and undertake control as necessary
- Varroa can start to increase over the next couple of months so check that it’s not getting out of control. Main treatment is in August after removing the honey crop.