Springtime is a busy and critical season in honeybee yards
/by Robyn McCallum
April and May are busy and critical months in honeybee yards (apiaries). We often see colonies survive the winter to this point and then possibly diminish or even die in April due to a lack of food stores or weak bee populations.
To address low food stores, beekeepers can intervene and provide sugar syrup (a 1:1 sugar to water ratio). Beekeepers may also feed pollen patties until natural pollen is available. If you’re seeing weak hives, you may wish to place a weak hive on top of a strong hive to share heat and bee population resources. You can even combine hives. But first, make sure the weak hive is not weak due to a disease that may spread, such as American foulbrood.
Spring is also an opportunity to monitor and treat for pests and diseases if necessary, including Nosema and Varroa mites.
Another spring management practice is unwrapping hives from winter protective wrap and cleaning bottom boards. Although when this is done will vary depending on our spring conditions and among regions, unwrapping hives typically occurs near the end of April when the nighttime temperature is consistently above 0 degrees Celsius. However, this may be later for northern regions. The advantage of keeping winter protective wrap on for this long is that it aids with brood rearing and heat retention. When you are ready to unwrap, you can also scrape and clean bottom boards and remove entrance reducers.
Something you may be faced with this time of year is “spring dwindle.” This is when older bees are dying faster than new bees can be produced (transition from winter bee population to summer bee population). High pest and disease levels, underperforming queens, weak colonies, low food stores, and poor weather can all contribute to spring dwindle. To encourage spring turnover to the new bee population, keep pest and disease pressures under control, provide ample food stores, run productive queens, and keep colonies strong and healthy.
If you are preparing hives to send to pollinate crops, there are a few management practices to consider. Are your hives palletized or adequately prepped to move? Will you need to split some of the stronger colonies to avoid swarming in crop fields? If so, do you need to order queens for the newly divided colonies and have extra equipment on hand? Do the colonies have enough room to grow to avoid swarming? Will you be adding honey supers?
Also keep in mind some communication tips if you are preparing hives to send for crop pollination. Have a clear communication plan on drop-off and pickup dates and times, and be ready to be flexible for changing weather conditions. Be aware of which hives are going to which fields and if hives will be moved for a second pollination. Placing flagging tape or reflective signs at field entrances can be helpful when moving bees at night. Have emergency contact information on hand. Speak with collaborating farmers about who is responsible for setting up bear fencing (if applicable) and who will maintain and check these fences.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to sit down and discuss pollination contracts, payment timing, and pollination strength expectations. Many provincial agriculture departments and beekeeping and blueberry associations have recommended pollination standards posted to their websites.
Keep in mind that our research at the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture (ATTTA) shows that when colonies are sent too strong, they are likely to swarm, which is a lose-lose scenario for beekeepers and blueberry growers. Colonies can shut down brood rearing up to 14 days before swarming, so there is lost pollination productivity associated with colonies that are too strong and about to swarm (brood rearing drives the need to gather pollen and nectar resources, which results in pollination).
When colonies are sent too weak, they are not pollinating at full capacity and do not have the resources to grow and thrive, which is also a lose-lose scenario for beekeepers and blueberry growers. There can be long-term implications of this for beekeepers. For example, honey productivity after pollination may be compromised and there may be less potential to divide colonies to expand the operation or generate revenue through bee sales.
If you haven’t done so already, check out our new reports, including research focused on bee health during pollination and the efficacy of various Varroa mite management products. We also have extension guides focused on spring management and splitting colonies. Visit www.perennia.ca/portfolio-items/honey-bees/ to access all of our resources.
(Robyn McCallum is an apiculturist and program lead for the Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture.)
