May Bee Hive Inspections

Can you spot the Queen on this frame?

My friend Jen and I spent some time in my Hives today. 

Honestly it’s been too long since I’ve done even an inspection. Especially considering this is a delicate / busy time of year for bee keeping!

Just like our chickens, gardens and many other living things - Bees reproduce like crazy in the spring! In our climates here in north Florida, usually by the time when the end of February hits we start seeing a huge increase in bee populations with swarms typically happening by the onset of March.

Swarms happen when the population of the colony grows so large, and typically in such a small space, that the queen signals to the rest of the colony that they need to split. This ultimately is an effort to propagate the species. The OG Queen will leave the colony in search of a new home, leaving the other half (ish) of the colony behind to rebuild with a newly emerged Queen.

There are practices that beekeepers take in early spring in an effort to manage swarms, and keep their bees close to home. One way we do this is by splitting hives.
However - as previously stated, I’ve been busy, and allowed the hives to sit longer than is suggested without human interference. As a result, I’ve performed no swarm management this spring.
 
The other thing to consider though: is that because I’ve taken no action to prevent these colonies from swarming at their digression - there was likely brood breaks for them in between Queens (a point in time where no eggs were being layed, and no new bees being produced)

A new Queen does not emerge ready to lay eggs. She must fly out and mate with a male bee to become fertilized before returning to the hive to begin laying. So - that time between the emergence of a new Queen and her becoming mates may have offered a break in the laying cycles within my hives. It could definetly be true that those brood breaks also helped to give any varroa mites a break from reproducing, as they let eggs inside brood cells.

We’re very happy to report however that even with my negligence 10/12 hives look great! Queens are present and laying, resources look great and bees are calm and busy.

Typically we would be coming into a honey flow this time of year. A “Honey flow” happen when the bees are able to forage for both pollen and nectar in the environment to produce honey from. It appears though that several of the colonies are still repopulating after swarming so we may not be harvesting just yet! But I’m sure we’re on track for a nice Fall harvest.

With healthy, well managed hives, it’s not uncommon for us to be able to get two honey harvests a year here in North Florida.

We’ve decided to make uses out of any wax and propolis we can collect as well.
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More will be revealed