In the Apiary - March & April

Week Ending Saturday 21st April 2001

Week after week seems to have been the same. Wet and very cold with little or no chance to leave the hive. Even then it would only have been for defecating purposes as there has been nothing to forage. I did manage a quick inspection three weeks ago just to ascertain that all hives were alive and to put in the spring dose of Bayvarol medication.

Yesterday was forecast as being a good day but this still hadn't materialised by noon so I made the decision that I had to inspect regardless. The Bayvarol had to be removed in any case. Only one colony looked really healthy with bees right across. The others were still only about 3-frame size with the notable exception of hives 7 & 9. None had any pollen stores.

Hive 9 was my swarm hive from 2000. This had overwintered but was of unknown origin and try as I might I just couldn't find the queen. Today I had more luck and found a small dark and very battered looking sovereign who looked, by the state of her wings, as if she was several years old. Hive 7 had only been a small young colony in late autumn and although they had overwintered, they were not going to survive the spring weather. Most of them were dead on the floor and about 20 bees including a beautiful home reared 2000 queen just clung to existence in one corner of a frame. This was a make or break situation.

Hive 9 had to be requeened but there was no time for a formal introduction if I wanted to save the queen from hive 7. I sprayed them all down with lavender scented water and put them into one box and kept my finger crossed. The sun came out in the afternoon and they were seen to be foraging and taking in a small amount of wallflower pollen so we may have been lucky. I'll give it a few days before before I inspect again. In the meantime, I now have an empty hive to get sterilised with acetic acid and some dead bees to 'pickle' until I can get round to a post mortem.

Week Ending 10th March 2001:

There was little to report owing to the return of winter but things are now looking up. The bees have been flying almost every day this week and all 10 hives have been active. The crocuses are in flower and the pollen foragers are crawling all over them. Unfortunately I have not seen any nice full pollen baskets going home. Still no pussy willow out yet but that should only be a matter of days now. It is beginning to get quietly exciting with the realization that I will be supering-up in only a few weeks time