February is the month when the colony start to mobilise for the coming spring and summer months ahead. The queen will be laying more worker brood to build up the colony numbers ahead of the spring bloom. It is a good idea to observe the hives on warm days to see if the flying bees are bringing in pollen and water. This is one of the early visible sign of hive activity. At Fonte de Baixo we have a number of water sources but if you don’t it is a good idea to place a water source that is not too close to the hive. Bees will ignore water in the area where they defecate and during the colder months this will be close to the hives.  

As a rule I leave approximately 30lbs (14 kilos) of honey or one super on the hive for the winter so I rarely have to feed my bees in the spring. However, I know many beekeepers that prefer to feed granulated sugar, candy or ambrosia and remove all the honey with the exception of that in the brood box. I strongly believe that feeding sugar in whatever form is detrimental to the health of the bees, as it contains no minerals or vitamins only sucrose that is not part of the bees diet. In addition, it is expensive to buy. However, I do recommend that you heft the hive to make sure it has enough store, as now is the time between February and March that colonies can stave if too much honey was taken off and they were poorly fed in the autumn. If this were the case then I would recommend feeding them candy in February as this can be given through the holes in the crown board without opening the hive. 

February is the time to plan for the year ahead, not least holiday support and having enough equipment to manage the swarming season. Consider the method of swarm control you want to employ and if unsure, then make contact with other beekeepers. Finally, make sure the area around your hives is clean and that you have easy access.