February Monthly TIps

As your hive begins to grow, the bees’ need for food will grow as well. It takes up
to two frames of honey to raise one frame of brood. Be sure to check your hive at
least every other week to ensure they have enough food stores to grow properly.
Even if flowers are blooming, that doesn’t mean those flowers are producing
enough nectar to sustain your hive. We recommend maintaining at least a 20-
pound surplus of stored honey or syrup in your hive during February. If your hive
has less than that, feed a 2:1 ratio (two parts sugar to one part water) of syrup.
The thicker syrup is closer to the viscosity of honey, therefore requiring less work
for them to consume it, plus it won’t ferment as fast as 1:1 syrup will.
As the daily temperatures slowly start to increase, you will see an increasing
number of flowers beginning to bloom and some trees beginning to bud, making
feeding a pollen substitute not as critical. However, during the months of
February and March, we can have unexpectedly cold weeks. During these weeks
the bees are unable to forage. If the temperature is 50 degrees or below, bees
typically forage very little. If more than three consecutive days are below this
temperature, a strong, growing hive can run out of stored pollen very quickly. If
they do, they will begin cannibalizing brood, which can cause your hive to quickly
lose strength. To prevent this, give each hive a pollen patty if these conditions
occur.
Consider rotating boxes. If your hive has overwintered in two boxes, you will
often find that the majority of your bees are now in the top box as they migrated
upward over the winter, consuming honey. If this has happened to your hive,
reverse the boxes, placing the box full of bees on the bottom and the empty box
on top. Although not required, this maneuver can instantly provide more space
for the hive that is rapidly approaching a population explosion just weeks from
now.
Very strong hives can and will swarm in late February or early March. If all of
your hive’s boxes are currently 75% or more full of bees, add another box and
plan to make a split later in the spring. Good reminder to order queens!
As spring rapidly approaches, having Varroa mites under control is crucial. As a
general rule, test for mites before treating. Every hive has mites, but not all hives
have high enough levels to necessitate treatment. Test using the alcohol wash,
sugar roll, or sticky board test—with the alcohol wash being the most accurate. A
visual inspection is not a reliable method for determining mite levels and should
not be used as your mite load indicator. In general, if you visually see mites, the
infestation is already at lethal levels for your hive. If your hive has more than 2
mites per 100 bees, treat.