Spring management feeding, requeening, hive inspections, adding honey supers, etc'

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Spring management feeding, requeening, hive
inspections, adding honey supers, etc.

• 6
• Presented
• By
• The Ohio State Beekeepers Association

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Getting Ready for Spring!
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Hive Population Growth

• In the Spring/winter.
• In Ohio queens begin laying in late January and
  you will find small patches of capped brood in
  February. This growth increases in March and
  April. This chart is based upon a chart released
  by OSU in 1976 of an ideal colony entering
  January with a population of 40,000 bees.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring management really began last fall.
• We put our entrance guards on our hives
• We made sure our hive had enough honey surplus
  for the bees to survive the winter.
• We tilted the bottom board so water would not run
  into the hive.
• We provided upper ventilation
• We provided a wind break for the hive.
• And we treated for mites. And so why do we need
  to worry about spring?

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
•    If your bees survived the winter, there are
  things that need to be done.  You can open your
  hive even during cold weather. However, do not
  pull out any frames. You will need to carry out
  an early hive inspection.  Things you will look
  for and do
• You can take the top cover off to see if the bees
  are alive.
• Good sign The bees are alive!

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• It is winter and snow is still on the ground.
  Temperatures are getting into the single figures
  overnight. What are our bees doing?
• It is okay to open a hive but do not pull any
  frames out of the hive for inspection!

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
•   You can get into your hive anytime the
  temperature of the outside air reaches 55 degrees
  F. It will be better if you wait until the
  temperature gets to 60 degrees or more.   Things
  you will look for and do
• Are the bees flying? Are they in the cluster?
• The thermometer in the picture shows 55 degrees.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• Open the hive, and check to see how many frames
  the bees seem to be covering.
• You do not want to leave this hive open very long
  on a cool day like this. 
• Also check the hives weight. If light, the hive
  will need to be fed. 

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• Do they need feed?
• If so, it should be one of your higher
  priorities.
• Many people feed sugar syrup. Use a heavier
  mixture 11 sugar and water early in spring and
  later go to 2 parts water and 1 part sugar.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• Do they need feed?
• There are many types of feeders. One that I do
  not recommend in early spring is called the
  Boardman Feeder.
• Can you see why the boardman feeder in this
  picture is not doing the bees any good?

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• There are many types of feeders.
• Division board feeders fit inside the hive.
• One Gallon Bucket to feed over the inner cover
  hole.
• Top feeder -- no picture shown.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• A warm day finally arrives.
• The bees have been fed..
• We are now ready for a real hive inspection!

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• When the bees are flying and the temperatures
  have warmed up to 60 degrees or so
• Open the hive.
•    If there is no brood you have a problem -- You
  will need to purchase a new queen immediately.
• If the queen is laying poorly, replace her. 
  Don't kill her until the new queen arrives.
  Again, dont keep the hive open for very long.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• Check the hive for any mouse damage.  Mice get
  into the hives during winter and build a nest in
  the lower corner of frames.  If this has
  happened, remove the frames that are damaged --
  remove the nest and check to make sure no mice
  are running around inside the hive. 

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• Cleaning chores..
•   Clean all debris from the bottom board.  
• Loosen frames and clean them if necessary.
• Clean around the hives.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
•   If your hive is weak, you might consider buying
  a two pound package of bees.  You can kill the
  old queen and introduce the package to the rest
  of the bees still in the hive.  As you get more
  hives, you will be able to borrow frames of bees
  and brood from your strongest hives and make the
  weaker hive stronger.  In beekeeper terms this is
  called "equalizing the brood".
• You will also want to treat your hive for mites.
    Hopefully, the practice of putting chemicals in
  a hive to save the bees will soon end with the
  introduction of queens that are mite resistant. 
  It appears that we may be getting stock that can
  hold its own against varroa mite.  We have
  already achieved it with the tracheal mite.  If
  you need a new queen, certainly consider the mite
  resistant stock available.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management
• Another thing you might want to check would be
  Are any critters brothering your bees.   Skunks
  are a problem in some areas.  Bears can be a
  problem (You will see the damage without any
  trouble).   Skunks eat honey bees and once they
  discover a meal to be had, they will be back
  every night.  Signs of skunk damage  the grass
  in front of the hive entrance will be matted down
  and if the skunk has been working the hive over a
  period of time, the grass will be worn away
  showing a bare patch of dirt in front of the
  hive.  You will also find scratch marks on the
  front of the hive.  Skunks disturb the hive and
  when a honey bees comes out the entrance to check
  to see what has caused that disturbance, the
  skunk will have a meal.
• You may have to re-level your hive.
• Check for hive maintenance.  Does it hive need a
  new coat of paint?   Be proud of your
  hive/hives.   If you maintain your equipment, it
  will last for a long time.
•  

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management -- Adding supers
• You can expect your hive to develop swarming
  fever!  It is important to be one step ahead of
  the bees.   This is about the same time apple
  trees begin to bloom.  Bees will not usually
  gather a honey crop from apple and maple.   They
  will however be using the pollen and nectar for
  brood rearing.  As the population explodes, the
  bees will be crowded without the extra space.
  Bees swarm as early as mid April in Ohio. You
  will be faced with the decision to make splits
  (discussed in the next series of slides), or add
  honey supers to expand the room available for the
  bees.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management -- Spring inspection
• Examination of your hives requires a careful
  check of each hive. This is called a spring
  inspection.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management -- inspections
• What you want to accomplish
• Check on the condition of the queen (brood
  patterns, population size etc.)
• Check for diseases.
• Check for equipment needs.
• Your goal is to get your hive to maximum hive
  strength for the nectar flow for your surplus
  honey and their survival.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management -- Spring inspections
• It is easier to examine the hive in the spring
  because the bee population is small.
• You could find your queen to mark her and clip
  her wings if desired.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Spring Management -- Pollen and Nectar
  sources.
• Ohio has a wide assortment of flowering trees,
  shrubs, and flowering plants.
• Ohio is not a major honey producing state.
  However, our bees do gather surplus honey!

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Pollen and Nectar sources.
• As the weather warms in Ohio, the bees will
  become active seeking pollen and nectar.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Pollen and Nectar sources.
• The bees use this for brood production
• It takes approximately one frame of nectar and
  one frame of pollen to produce one frame of
  brood. March is a very important month for the
  growth of a hives bee population. They consume a
  lot of food.

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Pollen and Nectar sources.

• Late Spring -- Beginning of honey flow
• Raspberries
• Black Locust
• Honeysuckle

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Pollen and Nectar sources.

• Late Spring -- Honey plants.
• White Clover
• Various mints
• Wild flowers

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Some comments about equipment
• A shallow honey super
• A medium honey super
• Do you need a queen excluder?

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Some comments about equipment
• A shallow honey super Weight when full of honey
  about 30 lbs.
• The dimensions of a shallow super are
• 19-13/16 x 16-1/4 x 5-3/4
• The shallow frame is 5-3/8 deep. One can use
  various types of foundation in them
• Honey production -- usually called brood
  foundation and can be wired or plain.
• Cut Comb production thin foundation used for
  comb honey production or sometimes called cut
  comb foundation.
• Pictures from Dadant Catalog

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Some comments about equipment
• A medium honey super -- Weight when full of honey
  about 40 lbs.
• These are normally used for honey production.
  Foundation can be wired or plain. New in the
  last 10 years is plastic frames foundation.

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Getting Ready for Spring!

• Some comments about equipment
• Do you need a queen excluder?
• Some beekeepers call a queen excluder a bee
  excluder. They find that honey bees resist
  going up thru the bee excluder to deposit honey
  in the honey super. It is an interesting topic
  and you will find those who recommend them and
  others who curse them.
• However, if you are producing comb honey, one is
  essential to keep the queen out of the honey
  supers. If the queen gets up into the honey
  supers, she will lay eggs thus the comb will
  darken, and the pupa will create cocoons in the
  cells which make the wax undesirable.

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Getting Ready for Summer!

• Summer is most likely the most pleasant season of
  the year!
• Packages have been picked up and installed.
• Hive inspections have been done. Honey supers
  added.
• It is now time for the bees to do their work!
• Time even for a vacation, unless you are a
  commercial guy!

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Getting Ready for Summer!

• Finis