Well, the good news is that swarm season, anticipated to be early this year, isn’t really in full swing yet. So we’ve had a bit of a breather. The bad news in that, though, is… the worst is yet to come. For the next 4-6 weeks it would be a good idea to go through your hives every 5 days or so. Check for queen cells. See how much space there is in your brood boxes and, if there is activity on 7 frames or more, add more boxes!
And don’t just dump another box on top; seed the new top box by bringing some active frames up from the existing boxes, and placing some empty frames (hopefully built-out frames) from the new box down below in the empty slots. If the new box will be a brood box, move some brood frames up. If it is to be a honey super, move up frames of nectar/capped honey, or capped brood. Doing this will provide immediate space to decompress the lower boxes, and also provide an inducement for the bees to move up and start using the new upper box.
Outyard Work Party – Mark your calendars for Sunday June 14th!
More details on the time and location to meet will be circulated soon in a separate email, and Janet Fontaine will be speaking on that at this week’s meeting.
Note: Members who participate in the work party will receive priority access to outyard spots in recognition of their work equity…
Our monthly meeting is this Thursday, May 14th , 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Central Saanich Seniors Citizens Association, 1229 Clarke Rd., Brentwood Bay