As I sit here Spring has really made an appearance – the snow is dripping off the roof and most excitingly the bees are out! Every single hive flew yesterday and today as high temperatures reached the 50s.  As I sit here I can see a number of bees out making orienting flights. These are new bees who would have been born in the winter and do not know the way home yet. The crawl out of the hive and fly further and further outward in concentric circles to learn their way around.

50 degrees and all hives alive, end of story, we survived winter, right? Not quite so simple. While the temperature is up now we’ve got more snow on the way for the weekend. Even the end of the snow is not enough for the bees. Winter only ends when FOOD comes out – usually the maple buds. Until then hives can and do starve.

I’ve left them alone today and yesterday so they can have a chance to get out and use the facilities. After it cools down again I will crack the lids to check on food. The two hives on the end I suspect may need some food. In the meantime, check out this video of the hive I took yesterday.