Beekeeper’s To-Do List February
Our bees are starting to raise brood and bring in pollen on sunny days! Do not relax! Never stop monitoring!
Check:
Inner cover for increasing condensation that tells you broodrearing is starting. All those larvae and new bees respire and hives may need slight increases in ventilation. If you did not have an upper entrance/vent open, now may be the time to open it, or increase ventilation by a small increase in opening at top or bottom. Matchsticks or craft sticks or anything < 1/4" on top rim of inner cover may increase ventilation enough.See the moisture ring in this picture of a January/February hive.
Honey stores by hefting or weighing the hives. Dry sugar on inner cover or candy board is easy to add without disturbing hive, until weather is warm enough to enter the hive.Don’t be fooled by pollen coming in from hazelnuts and other native or ornamental blooms. Overwintered hives are using that pollen and hive stores to raise brood. Check honey stores by hefting or weighing hives because pollen does not provide the carbs that honey bees need to survive. Until the first big nectar flows, possibly bigleaf maple, overwintered hives can still starve out.
Deadouts are cleaned up and any honey saved to help remaining hives, unless nosema is suspected. Nosema spores in honey will not affect human use but those spores could germinate inside larvae to which the nurse bees feed it. Soon it will be warm enough to add those deadout or honey bank stores to boost hives.
Entrances are clear, both top and bottom. Pull out as many dead bees as possible to clear an exit for cleansing flights and ventilation. Keep removing dead bees that might attract yellow jacket and other predators coming out of overwintering dormancy.
Robbing screens keep strong hives from raiding their weaker neighbors. Fastening them on with bungee cords or another easy on/off method lets you clear out dead bees behind them, or insert oxalic acid vaporization (OAV) treatment devices as needed.
Mite counts on slideout boards of screened bottom boards for mite drops indicating treatment should be done asap. Treat for mites if you detect more than a few per day. Treat now before the colony starts capping large numbers of brood cells, where overwintered Varroa will breed. Low temperatures limit us to OAV and the organo-synthetics.
Leave insulation and winter protection in place until spring is really here. Don’t rush to remove them. Temperatures can’t be relied upon to stay above freezing in most of Western WA yet.
Order bees and equipment as needed. 2022 Nucs & Package Suppliers List is available via Facebook and on the home page of www.snokingbka.org.
Assemble and paint new equipment.
Scrape and repair used equipment.
Autopsy, clean, & store deadout equipment & stores. Take photos, photos, photos!
Review notes from last year, catch up your journalling if necessary, and plan next year.
Set yellow jacket traps to catch queens emerging from winter dormancy.
Hope for cleansing flight weather.
