Spring management is the work of preparing the colony that survived the winter for the main flow. What is not done matters as much as what is done; in the early season most damage comes from excessive intervention.

The first check

A great deal can be learned from outside before the hive is opened at all:

• Is pollen coming in? Pollen entering almost always means there is brood
• Flight intensity gives an idea of colony strength
• Hive weight tells you about the stores
• Dead bees and faecal marks show how the winter went

The first full inspection is made when the weather is warm enough, and kept short. A hive left open in the cold chills the brood.

What to look at

• Is there a queen: Seeing her is not necessary; eggs and regular brood suffice
• Brood pattern: Tight and regular, or patchy
• Stores: Are honey and pollen sufficient
• Colony strength: How many frames are covered with bees
• Signs of disease: Abnormal brood, smell, deformed wings

The greatest risk: spring starvation

A significant share of winter losses occurs not in January and February but in March and April. The reason is simple: brood rearing has begun, consumption has risen sharply and the forage has not yet started.

A cold spell at this time can finish the colony. Weighing the hive, or lifting it by hand to feel its weight, is the simplest check.

Feed if necessary, but stop feeding once the flow begins.

Mistakes of doing too much

• Expanding too early: If the colony spreads into a space it cannot warm, the edge brood chills and chalkbrood begins
• Opening too often: Every opening costs heat and time
• Disturbing the comb arrangement: Splitting the brood area strains the colony
• Excessive cleaning: Debris on the floor can be dealt with later

What to do, in order

• Check stores and feed if needed
• Check for a queen; intervene early if there is a problem
• Unite or strengthen weak colonies
• Where colonies have died, carry out a post-mortem and write down the cause
• Adjust the space to the strength of the colony
• Start the comb renewal plan
• Measure the Varroa level
• Shorten the inspection interval as the swarming season approaches

Doing the arithmetic

The bees that will work the main flow must have been laid as eggs roughly five weeks before it. The whole purpose of spring management is to meet that arithmetic.

Start writing down when the main flow begins in your area; after a few years that record becomes your most valuable tool.