April in the Apiary

Howard Nichols
LBKA Education Officer

It is in April is that colony populations substantially increase and drones start to appear. There should normally be sufficient available forage for the bees to be self-sufficient if the weather holds good. Stores are currently higher than usual in my own hives due to the late nectar surplus in October. The most important job for the beekeeper in April, given the weather, is to ensure that the colony is not starving.

Other jobs to do

Remove mouseguards. Remove mouseguards and replace with a clean, sterilised entrance block.

Mark the queen. If the queen is unmarked then this is an ideal time to find and mark her. The colony is now going to continue to expand in numbers up until July whereupon it will start to contract. Swarm control is considerably easier with a marked queen.

Maintain records. Is the colony continuing to build up? A significant benefit of keeping colony records is that the number of frames of brood is recorded.

Varroa mites. Check mite drop if not already done in March.

1st full inspection. If not done in March then the first full inspection and spring cleaning of the hive should be carried out. The first entry can then be made into the colony records. From then on regular inspections should be made.

Inspecting a colony

When inspecting a colony, 5 questions should always be asked and actions taken if appropriate.

Is the queen present and laying? You do not need to find the queen. If there are eggs and these are only 1 egg per cell, or newly hatched larvae, then this is evidence that she was in the hive and laying 3 or 4 days ago.
Has the colony enough room? This is a 2-part question, being enough room for the queen to continue to lay eggs and enough room for the colony to store nectar. If not then provide room by adding a super.
Are there any queen cells? Queen cups are to be expected and should be ignored unless containing an egg or larva. Queen cells require swarm control action by the beekeeper. If the colony has insufficient space (question 2 above) then swarming becomes more likely as the pheromones do not freely circulate. Add a super if necessary. Some colonies will be more advanced than others and may start swarm preparations in April.
Are there signs of disease? This is a comprehensive question but the strategy is best approached by being familiar with healthy brood. Anything that does not fit this description is, prima facie, suspicious. Healthy unsealed brood is pearly white in colour, evenly laid, segmented and lies in a C-shape in the cell. Healthy sealed brood is light brown in colour, evenly laid and with slightly raised dome cappings.
Are there enough stores until the next inspection? The equivalent of 2 full National brood frames is regarded as sufficient at this time of year, even if there is a serious and prolonged downward turn in the weather.

April is the month that the colonies "take off" for the season. I do hope you all have an enjoyable beekeeping season, that your colonies will thrive and that you will achieve your aims.