Winter is an anxious time for beekeepers. Once we wrap our colonies for winter, we have to sit back and hope that the fall preparations and feeding we carried out is going to be enough to keep the bees warm and cozy as they wait for spring.
Spring is now here – and although there are still some chilly nights expected, the bees are getting out to gather the early pollen and nectar and helping the queen as she lays eggs for the next generation of workers.
Nova Scotia had a generally mild winter, but looking into my colonies reveal that it still taxed many of the bee’s honey stores. They all made it, but they did need some early feeding to get them to where the nectar sources in the wild will carry them into the warmer days and nights.
Sadly it does look like 2 of my 18 queens did not survive to lay a new generation of eggs. These colonies will perish if I can’t add a queen or combine them with another colony. This is agriculture and nature. Some times there is frustration and heartbreak, but it won’t be long before I can start to build up some new queen cells in other colonies to expand the apiary again.
This year I hope to bring my colony count to 25. We will expand out of the Queens coast area slightly to place some colonies across the border into Lockeport Shelburne County. Others will be placed inland to North Queens to provide more of a gap between the colonies. It will be interesting to see what a difference that makes in the honey taste!
Remember to be kind to the bees and limit your pesticide use – or contact your local beekeeper if you must spray so we can take precautions to sequester the hives until the spraying is complete.
Tiddley Bee Honey Company 