 The only thing in the honey supers that was above the excluder this week aside from a few worker bees was a dead European hornet. Photo by Eric Malcolm, May 14, 2026. | Time in the Yard: 7 hours 48 minutes Avg Time per Colony: 12 minutes Total Colonies: 67 Temperature (°F): Hi: 80° Low: 38° Avg: 59.8° Total Precipitation: 0.96” |
Actions:
We equalized and checked queen status of the last of the colonies installed from packages seven weeks ago (n=12). Requeened queenless colonies (n=4). Performed full inspections (n=19) and sampled colonies for Varroa (n=19).
Observations:
We saw similar variation in frames of bees among the package colonies as seen in those checked last week. There was very little stored nectar in supers in overwintered colonies. Overall, queenright colonies had solid and healthy looking brood patterns and lots of capped brood. We also found swarm cells, in a colony that did not appear crowded.
Reflections:
Based on early blooms, we had prepared for a strong nectar surge. That did not go as expected! Many honey supers remain dry. This was a useful reminder that sometimes despite us being prepared and colonies appearing ready for a nectar flow, environmental conditions ultimately determine how much nectar is produced. But that’s the way farming goes sometimes.
Things in bloom: Common Stork’s bill, European Field Pansy, Dandelion, Purple Crown Vetch, Paulownia, Amur Honeysuckle, Tulip Poplar, Russian Sage, Burning Bush, Golden Alexander, Daisy Fleabane, Dutch Clover, Crimson Clover, Red Clover, Catalpa
We equalized and checked queen status of the last of the colonies installed from packages seven weeks ago (n=12). Requeened queenless colonies (n=4). Performed full inspections (n=19) and sampled colonies for Varroa (n=19).
Observations:
We saw similar variation in frames of bees among the package colonies as seen in those checked last week. There was very little stored nectar in supers in overwintered colonies. Overall, queenright colonies had solid and healthy looking brood patterns and lots of capped brood. We also found swarm cells, in a colony that did not appear crowded.
Reflections:
Based on early blooms, we had prepared for a strong nectar surge. That did not go as expected! Many honey supers remain dry. This was a useful reminder that sometimes despite us being prepared and colonies appearing ready for a nectar flow, environmental conditions ultimately determine how much nectar is produced. But that’s the way farming goes sometimes.
Things in bloom: Common Stork’s bill, European Field Pansy, Dandelion, Purple Crown Vetch, Paulownia, Amur Honeysuckle, Tulip Poplar, Russian Sage, Burning Bush, Golden Alexander, Daisy Fleabane, Dutch Clover, Crimson Clover, Red Clover, Catalpa