Central Valley Beekeepers Association

May’s checklist for your hives 

Inspect hives every two weeks and look for eggs. You don’t need to see the queen if you see eggs. Check to see that all stages of brood are present: eggs, larvae, pupae and capped brood. 

If you bought a Nuc or a package, feed syrup until 80 % of the foundation frames are drawn out in the first brood box. 

Add another brood box once the first box is 80 % full of bees and brood. When you add the second story box, bring up one frame of brood into the center of the new box and replace with a foundation frame, placed on the outside of the brood cluster in the bottom box. Be sure to push the frames together to stop burr comb in the box.

Once adding a second box with foundation, feed syrup until 80% of the foundation frames are drawn out with comb. Add a pollen patty to ensure the queen has plenty of protein for egg laying between the two boxes. 

Check for Varroa mites using an alcohol wash or powdered sugar shake. If more than 3 mites are present in one cup of bees, you should treat either with one of several methods found in the Dadant catalog for various treatments. 

Be sure to have a clean water source (NOT directly in front of the hive) to keep the bees from going to your neighbor’s pool.