Yesterday and today were perfect for bees and blooms. Checked for brood and brood pattern in all my hives. Some are doing better that others but so far no major issues. There were the beginnings of queen cells being built in several of the stronger hives. The plan is to split off the queen cells and produce 5 frame hives.

I inserted mite drop boards yesterday and checked today for a 24 hour mite drop count. All hives had  mites on the board. I’ll probably treat with formic acid strips so that the hives will be clear of treatment before nectar flow gets strong. I expect nectar flow will start in two weeks and the strips are a one week treatment. All hive are 4 medium supers with plenty of empty comb available and the honey frames alternating with empty comb.

I also added a super of foundation to two of the strongest hives. All the existing frames were covered with bee. This year I plan to give them a lot of space and see if that helps slow down swarming.