The plums have already started blooming heavily. We're also seeing little things like henbit and violets that are favorites of the bees but not at flashy as the trees.
The hives show a mix of recently capped (bright yellow cappings) brood and older (dark cappings) brood that should start emerging within the week. There are also plenty of eggs and young larvae. The queens are loading the place up with new bees. In most cases, what was a few frames of brood in a single box last week is already double or triple that in two boxes this week.
They're even making drone brood, which is obvious because their cells are so much bigger. Given that drones are the preferred host for varroa mites, this is probably a good time to do another treatment.
The rule of thumb is: one frame of brood = two frames worth of bees. If that holds true, we are about to be loaded with bees, which means I'll be heading off swarms by this time next month.
I also spotted the queen of the White Hive, who happens to have a white dot. She was part of a nucleus I bought last year to rebuild after my back-to-back bear attacks and has proven herself to be prolific.
This was the week that I gave the hives their first dose of 1:1 sugar water, a magical elixir that simulated a natural nectar flow and boosts the queen's egg-laying rate.
(A bit of henbit pollen stuck in beeswax)
I'm not sure how much it was needed, to be honest, but it can't hurt, especially since I plan to use these hives to spin off at least two more hives this year.
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