Dear Members,

Along with our bees, February is the time beekeepers start gearing up for the season ahead. Hopefully, by the end of February, you will have cleaned all your equipment, got your plans ready for the next year, made sure you have assessed how many frames and wax you need to do those artificial swarms or shook swarms ready to snap up bargains at the trade show or order online before the spring rush.

Also, now is the time not to forget to check the weight of your hives to see if your bees need additional food as brood rearing is starting in earnest. If you are worried that there is little, or no, source of early pollen like snowdrops, crocus, mahonia etc. in the vicinity, you could consider feeding a pollen patty, but usually in urban areas there is fresh pollen available which the bees prefer (and is better for them), so don’t waste your money. Have a look and see if they are flying in with their pollen baskets stuffed with different coloured pollen and you will know they are doing well and starting to build up for the season ahead.

When you are making your lists of equipment to buy for the next season, you could consider buying some drone comb wax. Most of us when talking to people about bees have used the line “the drones are only good for one thing…” but there is increasing evidence that having a healthy population of drones is good for the colony and for other colonies in the area. We know that it is important for queens to mate with a large number of drones - preferably more than the average of 13, but at a minimum, 7. The more drones the queen mates with, the more viable the colony as the genetic diversity of the colony increases and in the local area queen mating is improved by a good supply of drones.

There is currently more research into the role of drones in the colony and it would appear that because drones are bigger and hairier, which keeps their flying muscles warmer as they are not equipped to refuel themselves outside the hive, this hairiness is useful in the hive as the young drones, before they are mature enough to fly and mate, cluster over the sealed brood, and with their big hairy bodies help to maintain the temperature around the brood at 35°C.

Some beekeepers are advocating that a sheet of drone comb placed near the brood nest would encourage the production of more drones and may help with the recent problems of poor queen mating. I would caution doing this in a bad-tempered colony as this would spread the bad-tempered genes which none of us want! Another option is to place a super frame in the brood box and the bees will draw drone comb below, alternatively, putting just a strip of wax in a wired frame may encourage drone comb to be drawn. The timing of this is important - do it once you notice drone cells are being drawn at the bottom of frames anyway.

Moving on to another matter to consider before the season starts. Some years ago a bee inspector advised me to clean out my smoker which he said would help with keeping it alight. Apparently, the bee inspectors regularly submerge their smokers in the washing soda solution we use to keep our hive tools clean. I complained that removing the bellows was difficult and he insisted that this was unnecessary as it was also important to disinfect the bellows and they stood up to immersion in the soda solution. I have therefore tried, (usually only once a year) to clean my smoker and get rid of the black tarry deposit that coats the inside of the smoker.

I would recommend doing this, but be aware that it is a very smelly business and best done outside, unless you want your house to smell like a badly lit bonfire. A stiff brush and/or metal scrubber will lift most of the gunk once the smoker has soaked for a while.

Regards, and stay safe and well. Margaret Holdsworth