Beekeeping in the snow

Two days of mid 50s temperature and sunshine was the perfect antidote for my spring fever. The bees were busy making their first flights in weeks. The beekeeper made his first visit in weeks. Hard to tell if the bees or the beekeeper enjoy good weather the most.

There was still snow left over from last week’s 10 inch storm and mud from the 8 inches that had melted but no one seemed to care. There is nothing like working bees with snow still on the ground to confirm that some bee keepers are a bit off. Combine snow, mud, and stinging insects – what a great day!

I opened several hives and found that the next project will be to remove the bottom super and reverse the 2nd up to the top position. As I overwinter in 4 mediums (when possible) my comb rotation is bottom super out every spring. This keeps me mostly on track with the recommendation of no comb older than 3 years. I’ll sort again in April and remove any old comb that is in other supers. I’m a strong believer in keeping the hive cleared of old comb. I’ll also switch out the supers that need to be painted and be sure bottom boards are clean.

Lots to do before the nuc making frenzy scheduled for the end of the month. Then on to swarm cell and swarm control. At least the snow will be melted.