 An early start to the nectar flow led to us quickly supering colonies. Photo by Eric Malcolm, April 27, 2026. | Time in the Yard: 1 hours 1 minute Avg Time per Colony: 3 minutes Total Colonies: 66 Temperature (°F): Hi: 83° Low: 27° Avg: 57.6° Total Precipitation: 0.23” |
Actions:
Added queen excluders and 1-3 supers per overwintered hive, based on population (n=24).
Observations:
Our main sources of nectar and several other plants observed last year began blooming early. On Monday, despite being overcast with scattered light showers, bees were not at all defensive as we removed tops and quickly added excluders and supers without the use of smokers. We thought this may be due to them being content with foraging the abundant resources.
Reflections:
We thought we had more time before the nectar flow began (looking at previous years) but since the blooms came early, we had to move quickly to get supers installed in order to take advantage of the early nectar resources.
Things in bloom:
Purple Deadnettle, Common Stork’s bill, European Field Pansy, Dandelion, Grape Hyacinth, Wisteria, Shepherd’s Purse, Lilac, Henbit deadnettle, Lenten Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Purple Crown Vetch, Japanese Snowball, Paulownia, Black Locust, Black Cherry, Amur Honeysuckle, Amur Maple, Tulip Poplar, Russian Sage, Burning Bush, Golden Alexander
Added queen excluders and 1-3 supers per overwintered hive, based on population (n=24).
Observations:
Our main sources of nectar and several other plants observed last year began blooming early. On Monday, despite being overcast with scattered light showers, bees were not at all defensive as we removed tops and quickly added excluders and supers without the use of smokers. We thought this may be due to them being content with foraging the abundant resources.
Reflections:
We thought we had more time before the nectar flow began (looking at previous years) but since the blooms came early, we had to move quickly to get supers installed in order to take advantage of the early nectar resources.
Things in bloom:
Purple Deadnettle, Common Stork’s bill, European Field Pansy, Dandelion, Grape Hyacinth, Wisteria, Shepherd’s Purse, Lilac, Henbit deadnettle, Lenten Rose, Star of Bethlehem, Purple Crown Vetch, Japanese Snowball, Paulownia, Black Locust, Black Cherry, Amur Honeysuckle, Amur Maple, Tulip Poplar, Russian Sage, Burning Bush, Golden Alexander