Hello Beekeepers,
It's crunch time, so I wanted to touch base with everyone. We are entering a critical period for our bees. They need to be bringing in resources and plenty of built comb – comb is king!
My cedar hive (unpainted) is doing well, though not as good as it should for this time of year due to the cold spring weather we had, limiting their ability to gather resources. When it’s really warm your bees should be active like the cedar hive. The other hive had a setback because I lost the original queen and I had to requeen it, which delayed progress by about a month. For the cedar hive, I added a honey super to catch any small June nectar flows. When the canola starts blooming, the race will be on. If you have new packages with undrawn foundation, be patient and allow your bees to draw all frames and gather nectar for their stores. This is crucial for winter survival—they need about 80 pounds, or roughly 6.5 frames of stored honey in two deep hive boxes.
This is the time of year when mite populations can explode. The mite population follows the bee population, and you don't want a high mite count when the bees decline later in the summer.
This year with the packages and if you aren't near other hives, you should be fine until August. I checked my hives twice this year—most recently three days ago—and found a 0.5% mite count. A 3% infestation is a general limit on mites. Be ready. If you need to treat, know what you'll use and have it on hand. The main nectar flow will start soon, and you may not have time for some treatments. If you plan to wait until after the honey flow, know what you'll use then. Please, please read the labels carefully. You can find them online.
We want to know how your bees are doing. Please report back with your updates, questions, or thoughts. If anyone needs help making a decision, or help conducting a mite check, don't hesitate to call me or Dave, however Dave could be really busy right now.
