WEATHER CONDITIONS

• at least 60 °F, sunny, no wind

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

• Unpacking
  • Remove winter wraps, mouse guards and upper entrances.
  • Clean bottom boards, and adjust the size of the bottom entrance reducer to match colony strength.
  • If you wintered colonies in three deeps, remove the bottom hive body (which should be nearly empty), leaving the colony in two deep hive bodies.
• Estimate colony strength:
  • Equalize your good colonies.
  • Combine disease-free, weak colonies with strong ones.
  • Note Bene! Exchange or combine equipment from different hives ONLY after establishing that they are free of disease (see IPM section).
• Evaluate queen:
  • Make sure the queen is present. If you do not find her, be sure that you see eggs.
  • Check all brood combs for brood quality, which is an indicator of queen quality. A good queen will lay a solid brood pattern with few skips. The fewer the skips, the better the queen. All of the combs need not be good, but most of them should have solid patterns.
  • Requeen as needed. Check for acceptance in 7 days.
• Swarm control:
  • Reverse brood chambers if needed. You will need to do this if the upper hive body is filled with bees and brood and the bottom hive bottom is relatively empty.
  • Cut swarm cells.
  • Clip and mark queen to allow for identification and to reduce swarming. Clipping a queen will not stop swarming, but it may delay it a few days, giving you time to initiate other swarm prevention measures.
• Super as needed.
• Protocol for the use of foundation.
• Signs that you need to super include:
  • Bees and brood filling both brood chambers
  • White wax being deposited on top bars
  • Swarm cells present
  • Bees hanging out on front of hive
• Consider stimulative feeding if the weather is bad. Continue until natural pollen and nectar are consistently available:
  • Feed 1:1 sugar syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water, by weight).
  • Feed pollen substitute (no pollen) or pollen supplement (with pollen). Use a pollen supplement only if you collected the pollen from disease-free colonies. If you purchase a commercial pollen supplement, be sure that the pollen in it has been sterilized. Never use commercially available bulk pollen or honey as bee feed.

IPM for HONEY BEE PESTS, PARASITES, PATHOGENS and PREDATORS

PESTS: Wax Moths and Small Hive Beetles

• Wax moths are not a problem during cold weather unless you keep your combs in a heated building. Properly stored and protected from re-infestation, combs that have been frozen (< 32 °F or 0 °C) for at least one week during the winter will not be infested with any stage of the wax moth.
• In general, keep all of your unused combs in mothproof stacks or in a mothproof room or building, preferably unheated. Tape cracks between supers or repair supers so they fit tightly together. Inspect regularly! Treat with Para-moth® or Fumigator® at first sign of wax moth.
• The best solution for wax moths is to keep as many supers of combs as possible on your colonies. Strong colonies provide the best protection for your combs.
  

PARASITES: Parasitic Mites and Nosema

• Initiate mite treatments if you have not already done so:
  • Varroa destructor
    • Traditional methods
      • You will need to treat for V. destructor once each year, maybe twice, depending on your area. Some areas are more prone to re-infestation than others, and mite populations can build rapidly where re-infestation is a problem. Learn to check for mite levels to determine whether or not a chemical treatment is needed.
      • Apply Apistan, CheckMite+ or Mite-Away II. Note! Mite-Away II also provides control of the tracheal mite, A. woodi.
      • Wear nitrile rubber gloves when handling Apistan or CheckMite+. See the label for special handling instructions.
      • Remove pesticides as soon as you have met the minimum treatment period (see product labels).
    • Alternative methods
      • Install drone combs for the drone brood removal method for control of V. destructor.
      • Three years of research conducted at Dyce Lab has found that screened bottom boards have no effect on V. destructor populations, honey production or fall cluster size..
  • Tracheal mites
  • Traditional methods
    • Apply Mite-A-thol (menthol) or Mite-Away II (formic acid) for control of the tracheal mite. Note! Mite-Away II also provides control of V. destructor.
    • Wear nitrile rubber gloves when handling Mite-A-thol. See the label for Mite-Away II for special handling instructions.
  • Alternative methods
    • Purchase stock such as the Buckfast Bee that has resistance to the tracheal mite.
    • Use Grease Patties instead of menthol or formic acid.
  • Nosema
    • Feed 1 gallon of 1:1 sugar syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water, by weight) with Fumidil-B or Fumigilin-B for control of nosema (Nosema apis).
    • Nosema poses special problems because it does not present any obvious symptoms. Learn to check your bees for nosema infection and treat accordingly.

PATHOGENS: AFB and Other Diseases

• Check ALL brood combs for disease and abate all colonies with AFB.
• If you are unsure about a diagnosis, send a sample to the Bee Research Laboratory for analysis.
• Initiate prophylactic applications of Terramycin® (abbreviated TM) on AFB-free colonies for prevention of AFB: GO TO - Antibiotics in the Hive:
  • Mix TM with powdered sugar to give 200 mg active ingredient per 1 oz dose of TM/sugar mixture - GO TO - Recipes for Mixing Terramycin®.
  • Apply 3, 1 oz doses of the TM/sugar mixture at 4 - 5 day intervals with the last application being made at least 42 days (6 weeks) before a marketable nectar flow.
  • To avoid killing brood, apply TM/sugar mix around edges of the brood nest.
  • There are commercially available TM pre-mixes. If you use one these, carefully read and follow label instructions.
• Never apply TM to colonies with AFB scales or active AFB. AFB infected colonies must be destroyed. AFB contaminated equipment must be destroy or sterilized.
• Chalkbrood: Chalkbrood is more prevalent when brood is chilled during cool, wet weather, such as is typical in the spring. Control is primarily by prevention. Select an apiary location that is dry, with a good windbreak, southern exposure and air drainage. Avoid hilltops and cold air pockets. Keep hives tilted slightly forward, 6-8 inches off the ground on a hive stand to help them stay warm and dry. Keep a 1” foam insulation board between the outer and inner covers, and keep the entrance reduced to a size appropriate to the strength of the colony and the ambient temperature. Delay unwrapping hives in the spring as long as possible. Stocks selected for hygienic behavior may provide some protection. There is no chemical treatment for chalkbrood.

PREDATORS: Bears and Skunks

• Maintain bear fences. Check voltage and trim grass.
• Check for skunk damage and install skunk guards if needed.