Spring: waking the colony

It's a sunny afternoon in late March. Anne walks out to her hives for the first time in weeks. At the first hive, a few bees are flying in the sunshine. At the second, nothing at all. She wants to pull the lid off both and find out what's going on. She shouldn't, at least not yet.

Early spring is a dangerous time for a colony. The bees are starting to raise brood again, they're eating fast, and there's almost nothing to gather yet. The Ontario Beekeepers' Association says the risk of starvation is highest now.

So the first checks don't involve opening the hive at all. On a sunny day of at least five degrees, do an alive or dead check: watch for bees at the entrance, or put your ear to the box. Then heft it, lifting the back an inch to feel the weight. If it feels light, feed.

How to feed in spring: use a feeder inside the hive, like a pail on top, a hive top feeder, or, in an emergency, a plastic bag of syrup laid over the frames. Use one to one syrup, equal weights of sugar and water. Don't set out open barrels of syrup in spring.

What about pollen substitutes? In Ontario they're usually unnecessary, and they can push a colony into raising more brood than it can sustain, and into swarming early.

Leave the winter wraps on longer than you think. The association's guidance is to wait until the night temperatures have stayed above freezing for one to two weeks. Unwrapping too early can cause starvation.

When can you do a full inspection, frame by frame? Only when the days are consistently around fifteen degrees and pollen has been coming in for a few weeks. Never pull apart the brood nest while the bees are still clustered.

And once the dandelions are blooming, stop spring feeding. The bees have real food now.

What about the silent hive? A colony that died over winter is called a deadout, and you should find out why before you reuse anything. Look for the foulbrood signs from lecture twenty, and for signs of damp, like mould and a wet inner cover. If there's no sign of disease, the equipment can be used again. Don't leave a dead hive sitting open in the yard.

Spring is also the time to renew old comb. The association suggests culling one or two of the oldest, darkest frames from each hive every year.

Now let's change one fact. Suppose a warm spell arrives in early April, and Anne takes the wraps off both hives. A week later, winter comes back. The cluster, now less sheltered, has to eat more to stay warm, just when its stores are lowest. That is how an early unwrapping ends in a starved colony.

The mistake beginners make is impatience. Opening the brood nest on a cold day, or unwrapping at the first warm spell, can undo a whole winter of good work.

Here is the rule, in one breath. In early spring, check and heft without opening on a sunny day of five degrees or more, feed one to one syrup inside the hive if it's light, keep the wraps on until nights stay above freezing for a week or two, inspect fully only at about fifteen degrees, and find out why any colony died.

Next, the last lecture: your first year, month by month, and where to get hands on help.