Well, it’s not in full swing yet, but coming fast. I am hopeful for a great season. And! for the snow to melt. Bee keeping in Minnesota does have its challenges.
I checked my bees in late February and yes, they were alive. It was a quick check because the weather was still a little cool to keep the hive open for too long. At this point the queen should be laying eggs and numbers of honeybees will climb quickly.
I went back to the hive in early March and found this. Their numbers had improved and they were nibbling on sugar patties — supplemental food source in case their own honey stores become low.
Per my mentor’s blog, time to add pollen patties and a sugar pail. I removed the sugar patties and replaced them with pollen patties (needed protein). A sugar pail (heavily concentrated sugar water) was placed on the frames. It is a food source and gives the bees carbohydrates.
On March 30th, a sunny, high 50’s day, I checked again. Time to do some housekeeping. I cleaned the hive of dead bees – very normal. A reversal was in order — simple procedure of reversing the boxes, top on bottom, bottom on top. Since, prior to the reversal, the bottom box was void of bees (they had all gone into the top box), the reversal serves a great purpose. It gives the queen much needed room for laying eggs. So, there you have it. Done.
Hopefully, some of the frames look like this — honey bees tending to bee larvae (the white in the open combs) and capped brood (once the larvae grows to the appropriate size the comb gets “capped.”) Once developed, the young bee emerges from the cell.
I will be installing “new” bees in April ( I lost a couple of hives last year, and am replacing them) — therefore, I will be preparing my other, empty hives to accept the new colonies.
If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to ask/comment.
Pandemic: Stay safe. My sister is making me a mask, but I might also try my hand at one. Keep you posted.
#honeybees #honeybeesinMN #beekeeping #beekeepinginMN #backyardbeekeeping #backyardbeekeepers #zerotohero
A Gardener's Diary 