Hives are Alive!

I checked the hives on Saturday and was relieved to see all the hives were alive.  Two of the hives have pretty small clusters. One of them is pretty light on food storage, so I put a pollen sub patty in and will start to feed liquid feed in a few weeks as temps get a little warmer.  The other small cluster has always been one of our weaker hives.  They have plenty of food, so hopefully the Queen will start laying again and build up the population.  The other hives were very active and were still very heavy with food.  I sense the bees feel the same way I do and are excited for spring.  I love spring and spring beekeeping because the world comes to life with flowers and bees start getting active again.  Spring is one of the most important times in beekeeping as it can dictate your honey crop as well as how prepared your bees are to go into the next winter.

Some things you can do to get your bees going strong.  I prefer to not feed the bees unless they really need it.  If they have made it this far through the winter, I don't want to loose them and will feed them if they need it.  If you have an existing hive, it is a good idea to put on a pollen sub patty or two to help get the queen laying again.  The goal is to get your hive near its peak in strength and numbers right about the time the main flows are going on.  In my experience we get a couple of flows in Utah, May and June are typically pretty good and then we get another one in August.

If you are just starting out with a package of bees or a nucleus hive, it is best to feed them sugar water and pollen subs to help them really get going.  With new hives you are not necessarily building up for the honey flows for your own harvest, but the hive needs a little help so it can put enough away for winter.  If your lucky you may get a little of that liquid gold that is the best honey you have ever tasted.

Springs coming! Lets get ready!