As I write this blog the sun is shining outside the office and if I open the door I can see and hear bees flying but it’s way too early to start doing anything with the bees. We should, however, be turning our thoughts to how to prepare for the beekeeping season.
The first thing to consider is equipment. The one thing that we all know is that just as we require new kit the beekeeping suppliers will run out. So be prepared. For the new season we need to make sure that we have the following:
At least two supers for every hive together with frames and foundation. It may well be that if you were beekeeping last year you had spun comb left over but now is the time to check what condition it is in and buy any spares that you may need.
At least one spare floor, brood box, frames and foundation, queen excluder, crown board and roof. You will need these for when you need to perform an artificial swarm and also just in case you are called out to collect a swarm. The number of spares you will need will depend upon the number of colonies you have but I would recommend at least one spare set for every three colonies.
Thinking about the hive then you will also need some spare brood frames with foundation to enable you to replace any old or broken frames in the Spring before the queen fills them with brood.
Liquid feed and feeder. It is often said that more bees starve in the Spring than in the Winter and this has certainly been the case in recent years. You should already be checking your hives to make sure they have enough honey or fondant to keep them going but as soon as the weather picks up you will need to consider feeding sugar syrup.
Make sure your bee suit, smoker and hive tool are in good shape. It is quite a while since you last used them and you don’t want to start the season with a damaged veil or a hole in the bellows of the smoker. Also, make sure that everything is clean and ready to go.
Now is also the time to give thought to your existing queen. How old is she? Unless you are thinking of breeding your own queens then now is a good time to reserve an early season queen if you feel that the old one will need replacing. It’s much better for the colony to replace her before it becomes vital than wait and let them do it themselves will all the potential hazards that holds for the colony.
Once the season gets underway it is amazing how quickly time flies by and suddenly you need kit urgently.
Fingers crossed for a great season.
If you want to receive regular updates from the wonderful world of bees then please follow this link and SUBSCRIBE by filling in your email address in the bottom right hand side of the page.