April bees are occupied both inside and outside the hive. On days 50 Degrees and above the bees are searching for and finding pollen and nectar. I see bees gathering pollen from early blooming dandelions and searching and finding flowering plants for nectar – crabapple blossoms, wild plum and chokecherry blooms among other tiny blooms that only the bees know. 

In the hive, bees are cleaning the cells so that the queen will increase her egg laying. During the peak spring buildup, a healthy queen bee typically lays between 1,500 and 2,000 eggs per day.  

She is increasing the population of bees that will leave the hive in search of flowers. Specific flowers are sources for pollen (bee protein) and nectar (ingredient of honey) 

One bee foraging for one trip involves visits 50–100 flowers. (Idaho Honey Industry) 

What am I doing?  

I am checking for the infestation of varroa mites in each hive. We know varroa mites exist and thrive in the confines of a bee hive. An acceptable Varroa mite level is generally below 2 mites per 100 bees (2%). A common threshold for taking action is 3 mites per 100 bees though maintaining a level under 1% (0-2 mites per 300-bee sample) is recommended for optimum colony survival. Hives die out – every bee – when the threshold for varroa mites reaches over the level tolerable for the survival of the hive.  

Testing Best Practices: 

We scoop ½ (approximately) cup of bees into a jar with a lid. Add rubbing alcohol to the jar and shake it vigorously to dislodge the mites sticking to the bees. Strain the bees and the alcohol out of the jar leaving the tiny specs of dead mites. 1 or 2 varroa per 100 bees is considered acceptable whereas 3 means the hive is weakened by the varroa mite infestation and may soon die out.  

What then? 

So the next step is treatment. Test then treat if needed, and our bees nearly always require treatment. And that is another story…. 

Value and enjoy eating local honey. Thanks for growing flowers that our pollinators like and need.