May in the Sweet Drop Apiary

May is usually a delightful month for beekeeping, with orchards, hedgerows, and gardens in full bloom and some days are very warm days.

In those areas where there is a spring flow the honey will be ripening in the supers and our hives will be full of bees – it’s swarming time! The very thought often fills the novice beekeeper with dread but there’s no need, swarming is what honey bees do and we need to understand why they do it and how to handle it.
If you have not already done an artificial swarm, continue 7-day inspections for occupied queen cells and take swarm control measures immediately if necessary. Add supers ahead of the bees’ requirements, i.e. when a super is full of bees, not full of honey.

Remember: space for bees and space for nectar!

Remove ‘ripe’ oilseed rape honey: give super frames with unsealed honey cells a firm shake and if nectar flies out, leave it a little longer – it will ferment if the water content is too high.