Dear Members,

February is the risky time for bees. We all hope that we have left enough stores in our hives for the bees to feed on during the winter months, but with the very erratic weather patterns we now seem to be encountering, if the queen has continued to lay, and both brood and bees need feeding, sometimes those Autumn resources can start to be depleted by February and it is still at least two months before we can expect there to be forage outside the hive.

February is also the time for Rugby Branch’s AGM. Do come along and support your Association. We also need a chair-elect to take over from Andy in 2024, so nominations please!

As a responsible beekeeper, you will have been monitoring your hives by either weighing or hefting them to gauge how much the bees have been consuming. It is imperative that you do not open the hives to check, but you can get some idea of what is happening in the hive by looking at the varroa board. This should give some indication of whether brood rearing has started. If there is evidence somewhere in the centre of the board of yellowy brood cappings this will be the case. Cappings from stores are more likely to be towards the edges of the board and are whiter in colour.

If brood rearing is taking place it is worth putting a block of fondant over the feed hole of the cover/crown board. If it is needed the bees will use it, if not, when you check every ten days or so, you will notice it has not been used. If you do feed your bees however it is important that you continue to top up the food until the weather improves and the bees are able to forage outside the hive.

You may also notice that there are now dead bees outside the hive's entrance. The winter bees are dying and as they are not able to fly away from the hive when the weather is cold, there will be a collection of dead bees near the hive. This is normal, but if there is a large number of bees it may be evidence of Nosema. You will notice that in April our monthly meeting is devoted to Nosema as it is endemic in our bees. You will be asked to bring a sample of your bees to be looked at under the microscope to see if your bees are infected with this pathogen which reduces the lifespan of bees. While there is no ‘treatment’ for Nosema there are ways of helping to reduce its incidence and the effect on your colonies, so do come along and get information about how to do this. If your bees are infected with Nosema it may prevent them from building up strongly in the Spring.

Please note that the Apiary cleaning session is on 18th February, so please come along to help if you can.

Regards, and stay safe and well. Margaret Holdsworth