April

April is one of the best months of the year if you keep bees. It’s full of optimism. There is usually plenty of forage with good quality pollen. You MAY want to feed 1:1 syrup to stimulate increase in size. If pollen is scarce you MAY want to feed a pollen pattie.

When the weather is warm enough that is when you can inspect the colony in more detail. This is for your enjoyment and part of your annual colony management. The most important lesson for beekeepers is ‘never inspect a colony without a purpose’. Remember when you open a hive the rush of air from the bottom cools down the colony and the balance of hormones is lost. Always put frames back in their original position as the surface is not flat. If not bee space will be reduced in some areas and increased in others, so the bees will make brace comb or fill with propolis so using up unnecessary energy.

Your first major inspection:-
● Ensure the colony is disease free.
● That the bees have enough pollen and honey.
● Keep a look out for varroa mites and deformed wing virus on adult bees.
● Look for eggs which will indicate the presence of a laying queen. There should be about 1:4 ratio of eggs to sealed brood in April.
● Check the frames. Old dark ones and misshapen ones that the bees do not use need to be replaced when there is a nectar flow. They can harbour disease.
● The brood chamber should be full of frames that the queen can lay in and storage space for nectar and pollen

Study the brood pattern. Are there solid patches of eggs, larvae and nicely capped brood, or is the brood pattern patchy or with raised cappings indicating a failing or missing queen, they may need uniting but be aware of disease.

Prepare Asian hornet monitoring traps.