March 2025 BIBBA Monthly
CONTENTS
- Varroa Resistant Colonies - What's Happening in the Hives Now
- Spring Awakening: Preparing your hives for the Season
- Is Victory over Varroa on the Horizon?
- Discover the Science Behind Beekeeping with Norman Carreck
- The First Forage: What's Blooming for Your Bees in March?
- Join us for BIBBA's 2025 Annual General Meeting
- Upcoming Webinars
- Call for Articles - Have you got a story to share.
Varroa Resistant Colonies
What's Happening in the Hive Now
Spring Awakening
Preparing Your Hives for the Season
As the chill of winter gives way to the warmth of spring, beekeepers must turn their attention to preparing their hives for the new season. Here are some essential tasks and tips to ensure your bees thrive as they awaken from their winter slumber.
Inspecting Hives for Winter Survival
The first step in spring hive management is to inspect your hives, when temperatures allow, to assess how well they have survived the winter. Look for signs of life and check the overall health of the colony. Key points to consider during your inspection:
- Check for Queen Activity: Ensure the queen is present and laying eggs. Look for a healthy brood pattern.
- Assess Colony Strength: Evaluate the number of bees in the hive. A strong colony will have a good population of worker bees.
- Identify Dead Bees: Remove any dead bees from the hive entrance and bottom board to prevent disease.
Peeping into Over Wintering Hives
Cleaning and Repairing Equipment
Spring is the perfect time to clean and repair your beekeeping equipment. This helps maintain a healthy environment for your bees and ensures your tools are in good working order:
- Clean Hive Components: Scrape off any excess propolis and wax from hive parts. Use a mild bleach solution to disinfect the hive.
- Repair Damaged Equipment: Check for and repair any broken frames, boxes, or other hive components. Replace any parts that are beyond repair.
- Prepare New Equipment: Assemble and paint new hive boxes and frames if you plan to expand your apiary.
Ensuring Adequate Food Stores
As bees emerge from winter, they rely on stored food until the nectar flow begins. Make sure your bees have enough food to sustain them:
- Check Food Stores: Inspect the hive for honey and pollen reserves. If stores are low, consider feeding your bees with sugar syrup or fondant. Remember though, if you choose to feed, you'll need to continue feeding until enough forage exists naturally to support the colony. Rather than feeding to help the colony to survive, it may instead stimulate the queen to lay more eggs, so turning food into brood and increasing consumption.
- Monitor Consumption: Keep an eye on food consumption and replenish supplies as needed until natural forage becomes available.
Managing Early Swarms
Spring is also the time when bees are most likely to swarm. Managing swarms early can help maintain strong colonies and prevent the loss of bees:
- Monitor for Swarm Signs: Look for signs of swarming, such as queen cells and increased bee activity. Regular inspections can help you catch swarming behaviour early.
- Provide Adequate Space: Ensure your hives have enough space by adding supers or splitting strong colonies. This can reduce the likelihood of swarming.
- Use Swarm Traps: Set up swarm traps around your apiary to catch any swarms that do occur. This can help you recapture lost bees and start new colonies.
By following these essential tasks and tips, you can help your bees transition smoothly from winter to spring, setting the stage for a productive and healthy beekeeping season. Happy beekeeping!
Is Victory over Varroa on the Horizon?
by Karl Colyer
Thanks to everybody who attended the 'Varroa Resistance through Bee Improvement' conference last month. It has spurred a lot of interest and BIBBA will be working with experts in the field to develop a further varroa resistance strategy.
Professor Stephen Martin, arguably the world's foremost scientist in the field of varroa resistance, made three clear statements that are all worth noting:
- Varroa resistance has existed for decades
- We understand how resistance works
- Resistance is complex for the scientist, but simple for the beekeeper
We are also very fortunate to have Steve Riley on board with the practicalities of varroa resistance. He has recently authored the book 'The Honey Bee Solution to Varroa - A practical guide for beekeepers', which sold like hot-cakes on the day.
In the April edition of the BBKA magazine, we will have a full-page advert to invite all beekeepers to join in on a national movement to understand, identify and procreate varroa resistant bees. It's very early days but there are BIBBA members and others that have been treatment-free for several years already.
We also have members who rescue free-living bees from buildings and trees. The colonies that have overwintered for a season to two are of great interest as they have not been inspected, fed nor treated. Nature can be brutal at weeding out any colonies that are not locally adapted and varroa resistant.
You may think, "OK, I'm in. What next?".
We will get to that in the very near future but there are a few early hints and tips to help you on your journey:
- Doing nothing and keeping on treating is not really an option. You will be doing two things:
- by treating a mite-susceptible colony, you are allowing those drones to live and be part of the process of making more mite-susceptible colonies.
- when treating the varroa, not all of them die. The remaining varroa then breed to make the future generations stronger and more tolerant of the chemical interventions. - Stopping treatments all together (cold turkey) is not recommended. Your bees may well be partly or wholly mite-susceptible and losses could be very high in the early stages.
- The recommended treatment approach will involve changes over time, including:
- reducing the quantity of chemicals used
- reducing the frequency of chemicals used
- changing from chemical interventions to non-chemical interventions and then (eventually), to no treatment at all. - It will take time. It is probably going to be a 3-5 year journey. If beekeepers local to you aren't on that journey, it will just make it more challenging for you and your bees.
There is so much to talk about; how the varroa resistant trait is passed on, how to detect it in your bees. It is likely you will hear it via BM first or maybe via some webinars that BIBBA will be hosting in the future.
You heard it here first!
BIBBA will be working in partnership with varroaresistant.uk on this strategy. Please visit their website to familiarise yourself with all their work done to date.
Discover the Science Behind Beekeeping
A BIBBA Webinar by Norman Carreck
For beekeepers who value both hands-on experience and scientific insight, "Science for the Thinking Beekeeper" is an essential watch. In this engaging webinar, renowned bee research scientist Norman Carreck bridges the gap between practical beekeeping and cutting-edge research, offering invaluable insights that challenge and inspire.
Norman takes viewers on a journey through the history of bee science, highlighting pioneering figures such as Charles Butler and Charles Darwin. He delves into groundbreaking studies on Varroa mites, bee tracking technology, and large-scale European monitoring programs, revealing surprising discoveries about pesticides, pollutants, and bee behavior.
One of the most fascinating segments covers research from the Isles of Scilly, where studies on bee lineages, drone behavior, and pollen collection patterns are reshaping our understanding of sustainable beekeeping. With discussions on environmental threats, colony health, and the future of bee research, this webinar is packed with practical knowledge that every beekeeper should consider.
Don't miss this chance to enhance your understanding of bees through science! Click the link below to watch the full recording and discover how research can shape the future of beekeeping.
Watch Now on YouTube - "Science for the thinking beekeeper" - Norman Carreck
The First Forage
What's Blooming for your Bees in March?
As winter loosens its grip and the first signs of spring emerge, beekeepers across the UK and Europe eagerly anticipate the return of foraging activity in their hives. March is a pivotal month for honey bees, as colonies begin to ramp up their activity after the winter slowdown. But what exactly is blooming during this early spring period to provide the vital nectar and pollen your bees need? Let's take a closer look at the key plants that kickstart the foraging season.
Early Bloomers: A Lifeline for Bees
In March, the natural world begins to awaken, and a variety of early-flowering plants provide the first sources of nutrition for bees. These plants are crucial for replenishing the colony's food stores and supporting the queen as she increases her egg-laying rate. Here are some of the most important blooms to look out for:
- Crocuses
These vibrant purple, yellow, and white flowers are among the first to appear in gardens and parks. Crocuses are rich in pollen, making them a valuable early food source for bees. Planting crocuses in your garden or near your apiary can give your bees a much-needed boost. - Pussy Willow (Salix spp.)
Willow trees are a bee favourite in early spring. Their catkins produce abundant pollen, which is essential for brood rearing. Willow is particularly important because it blooms when few other trees or plants are flowering, making it a critical resource for bees. Interestingly, Willow are dioecious and have both male and female trees. The fluffy yellow blooms are male and produce pollen while the smoother grey ones are female and produce nectar. - Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelions are a vital early spring resource, offering abundant nectar and protein-rich pollen. Their bright yellow flowers bloom prolifically in lawns and meadows, providing essential forage for bees when other sources are scarce. Leaving dandelions undisturbed can greatly benefit your colonies. - Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Blackthorn, with its delicate white blossoms, is another early bloomer that provides both nectar and pollen. It often flowers before its leaves appear, making it a striking sight in hedgerows and woodlands. - Fruit Trees: Plum and Cherry
Early varieties of plum and cherry trees start to bloom in March, offering bees a rich source of nectar and pollen. Orchards can be a haven for bees during this time, so if you have access to fruit trees, your bees will thank you! - Snowdrops (Galanthus spp.)
While snowdrops are often associated with late winter, they can still be blooming in early March. These delicate flowers provide a small but valuable source of nectar for bees on milder days. - Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)
Lesser Celandine's star-shaped yellow flowers are among the first to appear in spring. Though small, they provide valuable nectar and pollen for bees emerging from winter. Look for them in damp woodlands and shaded areas, where they often form vibrant carpets of early forage.
Regional Variations
The availability of forage in March can vary depending on your location in the UK and Europe. In southern regions, where spring arrives earlier, bees may have access to a wider range of flowering plants. In colder northern areas, beekeepers may need to provide additional support for their colonies until more blooms appear. Keep an eye on local conditions and adjust your management practices accordingly.
Crocuses
Dandelion
Snowdrops
Cherry Blossom
Blackthorn
Willow spp.
Lesser Celandine
Join Us for BIBBA's 2025 Annual General Meeting
Dear BIBBA Members,
Mark your calendars for Sunday, 16th March, as we gather for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) via Zoom from 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm. This is your opportunity to engage with the heart of BIBBA, hear updates on our progress, and help shape the future of our organisation.
How to Join
To attend, you must register in advance [AGM 2025 - BIBBA]. Once registered, you'll receive a Zoom link to access the meeting. Log in from 3.45 pm to ensure you don't miss a moment.
This is your chance to have your voice heard and contribute to the ongoing success of BIBBA. Let's come together to celebrate our achievements and plan for the future.
We look forward to seeing you on the 16th.
Warm regards,
The BIBBA Team
Webinar Recording
Have you got a story to share?
Here at BM Monthly, we strive to celebrate and share the unique experiences and insights of our members, and we need your help to keep the hive thriving!
We invite you to share your stories, observations, and thoughts on all thing's beekeeping. Whether it's a delightful encounter in your apiary, a lesson learned from a challenging season, or tips and tricks that have made your beekeeping journey smoother, we want to hear from you! Your contributions not only enrich our magazine but also inspire fellow beekeepers who are eager to learn and connect.
Every article is a vital part of our collective knowledge and camaraderie, and we're always on the lookout for new and exciting content. Don't worry about being a professional writer; what matters most is your passion and experience.
If you have an idea or a draft ready, please reach out to us! We're excited to showcase the wonderful voices within our community. Together, we can make BM Monthly a true reflection of the love and dedication we all share for our buzzing friends.
Thank you for being a vital part of our beekeeping family. We can't wait to hear from you!
BIBBA supports the banning of honey bees imports.
At a recent BIBBA trustees meeting it was agreed to support a ban on honey bee importation as policy. This is in response to the known threat of tropilaelaps being introduced to our shores via bees from Europe. Although BIBBA has previously not supported an outright ban for some time, this increasing threat leads us to adopt a stronger position for the good of the craft, the bees and our members.
The opinions expressed in articles in BM are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the BIBBA Board.
While the editorial team considers all material received carefully before publishing, it does not disbar those who may have a perfectly good argument.
