Went back to the hives today to show some students the basics of beekeeping, and give us a chance to inspect the hives now that spring feels well underway.A quick check of poly showed everything in order - the bees nicely nestled over 4 frames, which appeared well-stocked with honey, and a good amount of candy left on the frames untouched.
Wood was also very busy, so I had a proper inspection. I removed 3 smith frames which were virtually empty, and pushed the remaining frames up together. Spotted the queen, and also capped cells, and Faye’s hive had emerging workers, so they are well on the way to another year of business. Again here the sugar block was untouched.
We also fitted the tray inserts on both hives to do a varroa count over the next week - hopefully the numbers will be low and we won’t need a second treatment. We’re also planning to give Fumidol B in the spring feed in case of nosema problems, though we’ve not seen any signs of disease in any hive.
I’ll also need to make up a batch of brood frames - 3/4 for Wood, and 2 for Poly to replace the smith frames that have been in over the winter. Hopefully this can be done soon so I can return the smith frames to their rightful owners.
