Bee feed

With the sun out and the daytime temperatures a little warmer dandelions have opened up in large numbers. So long as they avoid the ornamental spaces they don't trouble me too much. At this time of the year they are a valuable source of nectar for bees, particularly in these arable lands where the range of forage is relatively limited. No oil seed rape is grown in these parts.

Our bees have become very active in the last few days and it is reassuring seeing them busy flying about the hives as I am aware of people I know losing colonies, possibly because of the unduly wet winter. Cold, bees can cope with but not damp.  

The bees have been fed fondant over the winter which they have gradually nibbled away at. This week I changed to a syrup solution to tide them over until they re-build their reserves during the spring. 

The hive stand for one of the hives was bowing in the middle causing the hive to be askew. This is not helpful because it means the frames will be hanging at the wrong angle too in the boxes and are more likely to become glued together. There is also the risk of the whole thing collapsing later in the summer with the weight of honey in the supers. So early one frosty morning, before the bees became active, I quickly replaced the stand with another that was placed ready to use. When I lifted the hive it was much lighter than I expected which indicated that the honey reserves must be quite depleted. All the more reason to provide some supplementary feeding.

We have some warm days forecast for this week so this will provide an opportunity to do the first full inspection of the year.