Long live the queen

This time of year is exciting and crushing all at the same time. It's warming up. There is an electricity in the air. You see activity in your hives. Did they make it? Is it going to be a bumper year?

Before you consider it a successful overwintering, take a quick peak inside the hive to make sure that all that activity at the front is hive activity rather than robbing. Is the queen laying yet? Some of our hives have a small cluster of brood about the size of an apple and other hives already have 3 supers of brood. Queens can be so different. Most should be laying right now. If you see this:

I'm sorry to say that your hive starved/froze. But you say you has so much honey stored upstairs in the super! I know, me too, but sometimes, the bees just aren't smart enough to venture up and grab that life saving nectar.

If they don't have enough food, now is the time to give them some extra honey or fondant to help them get through the next couple weeks. You and your bees have worked so hard to get through the winter.

Don't lose in the last couple of weeks!