The arrival of spring is an exciting yet challenging time for honey bees As temperatures warm and daylight lengthens, bee colonies begin to ramp up brood production and foraging activity after several months of relative inactivity over the winter However, early spring weather is notoriously unpredictable, with stretches of cold and precipitation mixed in with teasingly warm days. This can limit the bees’ ability to find adequate nutrition to feed their rapidly growing populations. As conscientious beekeepers, we can give our bees a leg up during this precarious season by taking certain steps to support strong, healthy colonies that will thrive into the summer foraging season.
Assess Colonies Coming Out of Winter
The first order of business is evaluating the state of your overwintered colonies. Pop open the hives on a mild 50+ degree day and do a quick visual inspection How many frames are covered with bees? Are there plenty of stores still available or are they running low? Check for signs of a healthy queen such as eggs and young brood. Make notes on any colonies that seem weak or concerning. This info will allow you to determine which hives need extra care and resources this spring
Emergency Feed Any Light Hives
If you find that a colony is dangerously low on honey stores, you’ll need to emergency feed them right away. Scrape any remaining honey frames from stronger hives if you can spare them. You can also dissolve some crystallized honey or make a simple 1:1 sugar syrup with white sugar and hot water. Place the emergency feed right over the cluster using an inverted jar or baggie feeder. This will provide stop-gap calories until you can implement a more comprehensive spring feeding regimen. Monitor food levels every week and replenish until natural food sources become available.
Begin Equalizing & Stimulative Spring Feeding
Once daytime highs are regularly above 50 degrees, begin spring feeding all colonies with a 1:1 sugar syrup mix. This thinner syrup will stimulate brood rearing and population growth without being excessively stored. Aim to give each hive 1-2 gallons of syrup weekly by using hive top feeders, frame feeders, or entrance feeders. Adjust amounts based on the size of colony and availability of natural pollen and nectar.
You can also use spring feeding to “equalize” your apiary by giving more syrup to weaker colonies and less to strong ones This helps boost the weak while preventing the strong from swarming too early As a general rule, stop feeding once reliable spring blooms arrive and bees no longer take the syrup.
Provide Fresh Pollen Patties
Access to pollen is just as important as nectar for spring build up. You can supplement natural pollen with homemade pollen patties placed right on the top bars of the brood nest. Mix 3 parts granulated sugar with 1 part pollen substitute (bee pollen or store bought sub) and add just enough heavy syrup to shape into patties. Apply 1 patty over a 2-3 week period. Patties give an added immune boost from the symbiotic bacteria found in honey bee bread.
Help With Spring Management
Certain routine spring management practices can really help bees along in early spring. On mild days above 50 degrees, open the hives and:
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Remove any winter insulation, reduced entrances, moisture boxes etc.
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Clean the bottom boards of debris to disinfect hives and allow air flow
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Do a light smoke and do a quick disease/pest inspection for overt issues
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Rearrange frames if needed for better bee space and brood pattern
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Equalize strength by moving a frame of eggs/brood from strong hives to weaker ones
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Add honey supers and/or extra hive bodies as soon as bees move into 70% of current box
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Consider splitting strong hives to prevent swarming (make sure to leave colony with many resources)
Provide Clean Water
Providing a fresh water source located near the hives is hugely helpful for spring bees. The water allows bees to regulate hive humidity and temperature, dilute thick honey stores, and participate in communal mouth-to-mouth food sharing. Options for clean bee water include: a bird bath filled with gravel, a 5-gallon bucket with floating corks, a water trough with twigs for perches, or a simple ground dish in partial shade. Be sure to change the water every few days to prevent mosquito breeding.
Avoid Early Season Pesticide Use
Pesticide exposure poses heightened risks for bees during spring build up when the colony consists mostly of young nurse bees. It’s best to avoid spraying insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides on blooming plants in the vicinity of hives during early spring. Alert neighbors to your hives and ask them to minimize chemical use until later season when bee populations are robust.
Plant Early Season Bee Forage
One of the very best ways to help your bees in early spring is providing a continuous sequence of blossoms from which they can forage. Focus on planting native perennials, trees and shrubs that provide early season blooms in your region. Some great options include:
- Spring Bulbs – Crocus, Hyacinth, Daffodils
- Fruit Trees – Cherry, Plum, Peach, Apple
- Berry Bushes – Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry
- Flowering Trees – Redbud, Serviceberry, Willow
- Shrubs – Forsythia, Quince, Rosemary
- Early Perennials – Dandelions, Henbit, Squill
Aim for at least 3 blooming species per season and be sure to choose a mix of pollen and nectar sources. If you don’t have space for additional plantings, simply avoiding pruning flowering shrubs or cleaning up perennial beds too early in spring can make a big difference!
Consider Providing Swarm Traps
For beekeepers struggling with recurrent spring swarming, providing empty swarm trap boxes around the apiary can help “catch” swarms and keep these bees in production rather than losing them. Bait traps with a few drops of lemongrass oil and old brood comb. Position them on partially shaded trees or elevated surfaces facing south. Check frequently and retrieve captured swarms to rehive in a new colony.
Join A Bee Club
Connect with other local beekeepers! Joining a beekeeping association provides mentorship, community education days, access to shared equipment, and more. In early spring, club members often come together to check over each others hives and prepare for the upcoming season. Don’t underestimate the value of learning from more experienced beekeepers in your specific region and climate.
Monitor & Adapt To Changing Conditions
The key to successfully helping your bees in early spring is staying observant and flexible as conditions change. What are the current temperatures and precipitation levels? How does this affect hive activity and development? Are certain forage sources blooming on schedule or lagging? Are colonies building up as expected or lagging? By continually evaluating the situation in both your hives and environment, you can adapt your feeding routines, forage plantings, swarm prevention and other management methods accordingly.
While the erratic weather and dwindling food stores of early spring can certainly pose challenges for honey bee colonies, we as beekeepers can take many proactive steps to help our bees thrive through this seasonal bottleneck. Focus on providing supplemental feed, ensuring adequate hive space, expanding pollen/nectar sources, limiting pesticide exposure, and staying engaged with regional bloom cycles and colony development trends. With some extra care and attention, your bees will be healthy and ready to fully exploit the coming spring nectar flow!
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Birds sing, flowers bloom and all around us, wildlife is bursting into life. Even where you live, bees are buzzing around again after hibernating for the winter. Even right outside your door
Bird bees and solitary bees come out of their nests to find food in the spring, which is one of the busiest times for bees. It’s also the time of year when honeybees restock their food stores after living off of it all winter. The queen bee starts laying eggs, and new bee colonies are formed. This means there are more young worker bees in the honeybee hive. In the spring, these bees will have to go find food for the rest of the colony on plants that are flowering.
The coolest part is that you can also do a lot to help these busy bees in the spring.
Plant snowdrops in the shade
These pretty white flowers contain lots of important food supplies for bees. You can plant them as bulbs in the fall so that they flower in the spring, but if you forgot to do that, don’t worry! You can also plant them in early spring while they still have leaves, which many gardeners say gives them better results. Snowdrops do best in shady places, like under trees and shrubs. They’ll also make your garden look lovely.
Spring Is Coming…5 Things You Should Be Doing As A Beekeeper
FAQ
What do you feed bees in the early spring?
What month is worse for bees?
How do you keep bees from swarming in the spring?
What are the benefits of spring beekeeping practices?
Spring beekeeping practices benefit a variety of bee species, including honey bees, solitary bees, and mining bees. These practices help ensure that these bees have the resources they need to thrive and contribute to pollination. How do bees survive during the early days of spring when food sources are scarce?
When is the best time to start beekeeping?
Remember, the effort you put in during the early spring can significantly impact the success of your beekeeping season. So, as the bees start to fly and the flowers begin to bloom, make sure you’re ready to support your hives into a productive and prosperous year.
Should you feed bees pollen in spring?
Another possible problem with feeding your bees pollen inside the hive while beekeeping in spring is that more bees could be produced than your natural environment could support. This could lead to stress and famine within the hive. If this happens you’d be forced to feed your bees sugar water early in the year to keep up with the demand.
Why should you keep your bees healthy during the spring?
By ensuring that your bees are healthy, well-fed, and adequately housed, you’re not just preventing problems like swarming or disease; you’re also maximizing the potential for a bountiful honey harvest. Remember, the effort you put in during the early spring can significantly impact the success of your beekeeping season.
How do bees survive in spring?
Bees survive the early spring by utilizing stored honey from the previous year. Beekeepers can also provide supplemental feed, such as sugar syrup, to support the colony until natural food sources become abundant. Can you use beet sugar to make sugar syrup for feeding bees in spring?
What should I do when my new bees arrive?
Your new bees are here! As you already know from last year. Receiving your spring bees is a very exciting day. One important thing to remember is to feed your bees sugar water when they arrive. Some packages don’t have food sources for them and they’re living on their honey within the frames.