Apiary Notes (April 2026) By Wally Thrale

As the weather has been so mild recently the season is again very early this year. Fields of OSR are in full flower (or almost) in many locations that I travel through. That is really early. It also means that swarming is also likely to be early this year so spare kit should be ready and available to carry out artificial swarms etc. It would not surprise me if swarming starts well before the end of April. I have seen adult drones in several colonies so that shows that some colonies are developing quickly.

A lot of colonies have come through strongly and are building up quickly. The strong colonies are likely to need more space before too long just to accommodate the adults on a warm day. Most of my colonies now have a super below the crown board plus one on top of it. If the bees need space during the day they can move into the top super. Then, on cold nights, the adults can move back down below the crown to help with warming duties.

All my colonies have a 50mm piece of Celotex under the roof to help retain heat. These stay on the hive until late May as nights can be cold quite late into the season. Colonies produce a lot of brood from now onwards and the number of adults is limited until later in the season so heat retention is important.

Now is the time I look for queens and mark & clip them. Finding queens is a knack and it can take some time to learn this skill. But with time and practice it is a skill that many can master.

Here are some pointers when looking:

Use minimal smoke so you don’t disturb the colony too much.

Work in good light—sunlight helps a lot.

Check frames with eggs first.

Look for fresh eggs (tiny white grains standing upright in cells).

The queen was there within the last 1–3 days, so she’s likely nearby.

Scan methodically slowly from one corner across, row by row (don’t just glance randomly). Look for the “circle of attention” – workers often form a circle around the queen, facing inward and feeding her.

Watch for movement – queens tend to walk steadily, not dart around like workers.

Check the centre of the brood nest – she’s usually where the eggs and larvae are most dense.

Once found I use the ‘twist and turn’ cage which allows me to cut a small piece off one wing. Once this is done it is easy to mark her thorax with a marking pen. It’s best to carry this out in this sequence so the paint can dry after she has been clipped.

Clipped queens cannot fly properly so, if she tries to leave with a swarm she normally falls to the ground nearby, often walking back to the hive and under the floor. Sometimes the swarm will follow her or just return to the hive. As Winnie the Pooh say, you can never tell with bees!