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Where this comes from. The month’s jobs are the British Beekeepers Association’s and the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association’s. The checks and the feeding are the National Bee Unit’s, from its fact sheet on preparing for winter, its guidelines on feeding sugar and on varroa, and Starting Right with Bees. Sources at the foot of the page.
What February is for
The queen is likely to be laying again, and the hive is still best left alone. 1 By February a colony should be showing signs of life: the queen laying patches of eggs in the warmth of the cluster, and on mild days the workers taking cleansing flights and bringing in pollen from snowdrops, crocuses and winter heaths. 3
It is a hungry time too. Colonies are more likely to be lost over winter and in early spring than at any other time of year, 6 and the National Bee Unit says to check them regularly through the winter and especially in early spring, when the risk of starvation is high. 4
Watching from outside
- On warmer days, watch for activity. Pollen going in is a good sign. 1
- Read the entrance. Fine flakes of wax are the bees uncapping their stores. Large pieces of wax on the landing board suggest a mouse has moved in. 3 Keep the entrance clear of dead bees so it cannot block. 1 Dead bees at the entrance tells the normal from the worrying.
- Spots of droppings on the front of the hive can come from a long spell shut in by bad weather, or from dysentery. 3 Cleansing flights covers what is normal.
- A hive with far fewer bees flying than the others, or none, is worth a quick look under the crown board. If the colony has died, try to find out why, and close the hive up so robbing bees cannot get at the stores, which may carry infection. 3
The food
- Heft every other week, one side and then the other, because the stores may sit at one end. 4
- Light? Fondant can be given. 1 Not syrup: bees cannot process syrup in cold weather. Put the fondant over the crown board feed hole, or on the top bars under an eke in a hard spell. 5
- A quick look every 2 to 3 weeks on a warmer day, in case the cluster has been cut off from its stores. Frames of stores can be moved across so they sit above the cluster, or fondant put over the bees. 5
- Looking ahead. March and April are when a colony uses its reserves fast, as it rears more brood. By then it should have at least 4 to 5 combs of stores, about 9 kg (20 lb). 5
Fondant: when and how to feed it goes through it, Starvation and emergency feeding has the signs to watch for, and Spring feeding and pollen is what comes after.
Keeping the warmth in
Brood rearing has started, so the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association’s list for February is to slide the tray back in under an open mesh floor to cut the draught, and to take out any matches propping up the corners of the crown board. 2 Ian Craig, writing for the same association, does both around the middle of the month. 3
Varroa
The National Bee Unit marks February and March as a key time to monitor. The mite population should be as low as possible before the colony expands and the supers go on, because supers limit which treatments can be used. 7 The free varroa calculator turns a mite drop count into the NBU’s estimate for the colony.
Outside
- Every two weeks, check that the fences are stock-proof, nothing has been vandalised, and woodpeckers have not damaged the hives. 3 Winter protection has more.
- On a cold, dry day, give wooden hives a coat of bee-safe preservative, not paint. 2 3
Indoors
- Assemble hives and frames, and carry out repairs. 2 Kit cleaned, mended and built now saves time later in the year. 1 Hive tools and equipment has the cleaning.
- Review last year’s records and plan the season. 1 Planning next season from your records walks through it.
- Courses. Local beginners’ courses start soon, and courses for improvers are worth a look too. 1
The short version
- Leave the hive closed. Watch the entrance on warmer days: pollen going in is good news.
- Heft both sides every other week. Fondant, never syrup, if a hive is light.
- Tray back in under an open mesh floor as brood rearing starts.
- Count the mites in February and March, before the supers go on.
- Indoors: build and mend the kit, read last year’s records, and plan.
January in the apiary comes before this one, and The first inspection of the year is what comes next.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change - always check the current guidance on GOV.UK before relying on it.