April in your Central Oregon Apiary
April is the ultimate of teaser months. Mid 70’s some days followed by a mid 30’s the
next. There are the “odd” trees that
bloom early with pasty white pollen as well as colorful bulbs, all with bright
orange or yellow pollen. Some colonies
are bursting at the seams and other’s just aren’t moving along yet. Queens and nucs are needed but the suppliers
aren’t quite ready yet.
Whine, whine, whine!
What to do about it all.
When it’s cold, below 50 or so, I try to stay out of the
hives. There’s generally nothing that
absolutely has to be done. When above 55
or 60 or especially 70 though……
Now’s a good time to start evaluating the strength and
condition of your hive(s). By mid-month,
most colonies should be well into starting their Spring buildup. Hives should have, for a Langstroth, at least
1 box full of bees with 4 or 5 frames of brood with similar numbers for a TBH
or horizontal hive. They should have
plenty of pollen and honey/nectar. If
you’re not seeing much brood or many bees, evaluate your queen and food
situation. Spotty pattern, too many
random drone cells or just not many eggs might call for requeening. Not enough food can cause dry larva syndrome
where they can’t provide enough royal or worker jelly (you’ll see larvae with
no jelly) and cannibalize the larvae.
Feed 1:1 syrup, and many folks like to include a pollen substitute
(keeping in mind that a pollen substitute shouldn’t be considered a long term
fix). Many of us feed both syrup and
pollen patties this time of year anyway just to help our colonies build up bees
and stores faster in preparation for the flowers in May and June. If there just aren’t many bees, say 1 frame
of brood and 2 frames of bees, consider either combining the weak colony with a
stronger one (assuming both are healthy), or equalize by “stealing” a frame or
2 of brood and associated nurse bees from a strong colony to give them enough
“bee power” to get going.
Later in the month, for a 2 box Langstroth hive, if all the
activity, brood and food are in the upper box, and there’s NO brood in the
lower box, consider reversing the hive bodies to help stimulate growth and
reduce swarming tendencies.
While you’re looking through your hive this month, I like to
evaluate the equipment. Old frames or
combs can be culled as they’re frequently empty this month. If you’re finding leaky or broken boxes,
covers, bottom boards or frames, make a note and prepare for repairs or
replacements later in the month or in May.
Finally, enjoy this wonderful month of change!
Allen Engle
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