May 2024 Newsletter

May is a very exciting time for beekeepers. Packages are going well, nucs are arriving and wintered colonies are ready to divide. 

Starting with packages. Packages are probably still in one deep. If is has been a month since you hived your package you should see brood emerging and the queen will lay in the newly emptied cells. The colony population should start to grow. 

Once you have verified that the queen is laying you really don’t have to disturb the colony. Check to see if they need more pollen substitute and keep the feeder filled and they will be fine. Even if they are bringing in pollen you should have a pollen patty on unless they have a lot of stored pollen. 

When checking the feeder be sure to smell it to make sure it is OK. The one advantage of the cool weather is the syrup does not go bad as fast, but if it smells bad or is moldy clean the pail and replace the syrup. 

When the first box is at least 80% being used (you see bees on 8 of the 11 seams between the frames) add a second box. Move a frame (with nectar but no brood) from the bottom box to the center of the new box to draw the bees up. Evenly space out the 9 remaining frames in the first box. 

For your wintered colonies as soon as the weather warms up (nights consistently above 40°F or 4°C) you can do reversals, clean the bottom boards, and reverse the entrance reducer. At that time, you can do a partial or modified reversal. Be sure to not separate the brood. 

In the May 2020 newsletter, I did an extensive description of the reversals. If you need a refresher, go to the website mnbeekeepers.com, and look up 2020 May newsletter for the Management. It is most important not to break up the brood nest.

The divide is usually at the time of fruit tree bloom (typically May 15 in the MN Ttwin city metro area). Remember we do the divide if we have at least 8 frames of brood. Find the queen or do the trick with queen excluder so you know which box she is in. The trick is described in the Beekeeping in Northern Climates Third Edition manual (page 91). (http://z.umn.edu/beemanual) The divide should have 4-5 frames of brood and all of the bees on those frames plus a frame or 2 of nectar and pollen also with the bees. The parent colony should be left with at least 4 frames of brood and the old queen. If you have more than 8 frames of brood, leave the extra in the parent colony. Let the divide set for 12-24 hours so the old bees will fly back to the parent colony before you install the new queen. Have a feeder with light (1:1) sugar syrup on the divide to help them accept the new queen more readily. Introduce your queen using the slow-release method. The queen should have come in a cage with queen candy (not a marshmallow). 5-7 days later check to be sure the queen was released from the cage. Check to see if she is laying. Remove the feeder and add a second deep box. Move a frame up like you did with the package. In this case move a frame down to replace the one removed so you still have 9 frames in that box. 

The parent colony has a queen that is laying so be sure the top box (of two boxes) contains at least a couple empty frames for her to lay eggs into. Also be sure you put two honey supers on the parent colony after you make the divide to provide extra room for all those old bees that are coming back. If you plan to winter the parent colony add a 3rd deep instead of the supers. 

A quick reminder about leaving frames out of the box. It is convenient for you and safer for the bees if you leave a frame out of the box while you manipulate the remaining frames. The frame that is out can be set on the end (not bottom) leaning against the hive or set in a frame holder or put in an empty box. It is best to leaved out a frame of honey but if it is a frame with brood (especially larvae) be aware of things that will injure or kill it. First is sunlight which in hot weather can overheat it and even melt the wax. Second is the wind which can desiccate (dry out) the larvae and kill it. Third is kicking it, that will smash the larvae and pupae and kill it. So, refrain from keeping a brood frame out of the hive, if you must keep a brood frame out then keep it in the shade and protected from wind and feet. 

When you are visiting your bees be sure to check the brood carefully and look for signs of disease. For new beekeepers, be sure to look at brood every time you go in the hive. You do not have to look at every frame but look at least a couple frames of brood. This gets you used to looking at healthy brood. If you see something different you may not know what the disease is if you get one but, you should know that it is not healthy and get help. 

You should also test wintered colonies for varroa mites with the powder sugar test. Treat SOON if you have more than 3 mites per hundred bees. Be sure to look at the label for the treatment you are using so you know how far in advance you must treat before adding supers and temperature concerns. Test for varroa again after treatment to be sure your treatment worked. For a poster on the powder sugar test for varroa go to z.umn.edu/freebee. You should continue to test monthly. Be aware that a higher percentage of mites than normal may be in the brood in early spring. 

Gary
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