Management of overwintered colonies in Pennsylvania is concerned primarily with early spring survival and the development of strong productive colonies. The arrangement of food stores and cluster location normally are determined sometime in February or early March when weather permits. The colonies should not be opened until the temperature is above 40°F, preferably when the sun is shining, around midday. Food stores can be evaluated merely by lifting the hive to estimate weight. Cluster location can be determined by lifting the lid for a second. (See Figure 20.) Avoid disturbing the cluster if possible. Adequate supplies of honey and pollen above and to the side of the cluster are essential, since brood rearing generally begins early in January. Once the small brood area has been established, the cluster does not move from the area, so food reserves must be nearby.

Figure 20. The arrangement of food stores and cluster location are determined in February or early March when weather permits. The outer cover is removed and the inner cover is lifted to see if the winter cluster is at the top.

When the cluster is found near the top of the uppermost hive body, emergency feeding may be necessary. In the fall, bees normally cluster between the combs near the bottom of the stored honey. During the winter, bees gradually eat their way upward between the combs. Therefore, the less honey stored, the closer the cluster gets to the top. (See figure 21.) Bees will not go down in cold weather to get food. Colonies with sufficient but improperly organized food reserves can be helped by placing frames of honey as close to the cluster as possible without disrupting or breaking it.

Figure 21. Remnants of a winter cluster that died from starvation. (Photo by W. W. Clarke, Jr.)

Colonies found to be short of food before late March or early April are difficult to manage. Feeding heavy sugar syrup is not advisable since it places additional stress on the clustered bees. Inverting the sucrose and handling excess water at this time will cause problems for honey bees. The best way to supplement food stores is to feed sugar candy. Combs of honey in storage or from colonies with a surplus also can be used, if you are absolutely sure they are disease-free. Dry granulated sugar may be poured around the hole of the inner cover or spread on a piece of paper above the frames. To take full advantage of dry sugar, however, colonies must be strong, temperatures warm enough so the cluster can be broken, and adequate moisture must be available.

Heavy sugar syrup is recommended once the weather permits easy movement of the cluster and occasional flights (early April). Feeding should be done only inside the hive. Several different types of feeders can be used successfully.

When strong colonies are needed early in the season, or pollen stores are low, pollen substitute or supplement feeding normally begins in early March. Colonies lost during the winter should be closed up and removed from the bee yard as soon as possible. Try to determine why the colony failed to survive the winter, i.e., disease, starvation, etc. Before removing the hive from the bee yard, shake out the dead bees and dispose of them. The equipment should be either stored in a dry, bee-tight area until ready for reuse or destroyed because of disease. If stored improperly, molds will develop on the combs, and honey that remains may absorb moisture and ferment.

During mid to late April, colonies are thoroughly inspected and cleaned. If colonies were wrapped for the winter, the wrapping is removed during this inspection. Dead bees and debris are cleaned from the bottom boards; burr comb and propolis are removed from the frames. A thorough cleanup at this time makes management much easier during the rest of the season. Replace broken combs and warped equipment as you find them. The presence or absence of brood is also determined at this time. Take care not to chill the brood. When the temperature is above 50°F and there is little or no wind blowing, brood may be hastily examined but should never be exposed for more than a few seconds. When the temperature is around 65°F, you can remove and thoroughly examine frames. Feeding Terramycin® for disease prevention is usually done at this time. A second treatment may be made in seven to ten days. CAUTION: All drug feeding must stop at least four weeks before a surplus nectar flow.

Colony stores during April must be carefully monitored. Fresh pollen from skunk cabbage, maples, willows, and dandelions is a strong stimulus for brood rearing. As a result, the size of the brood area frequently increases faster than stores are replenished. Colonies often walk a thin line between available food and starvation at this time of year. When April is warm and good flight weather prevails, additional feeding is usually not necessary. When the weather inhibits flight activity, strong colonies with large brood areas deplete their stores rapidly. Anytime a colony has less than 20 pounds of food (three full-depth frames of honey), it should be fed sugar syrup (1 1/2 parts sugar to 1 part hot water by volume).