Jobs for February

摘要

For practical beekeepers this can be a quiet time of the year if we have finished the clearing up and repair from last season, and a good time for a holiday to make the winter seem shorter. However, if you have not finished checking and making good the woodwork as described last month then do press on with it now, or the new season will arrive and catch you not fully prepared. Now is the time to check over your stock of frames and make up new ones. Frames assembled now can be put together in a leisurely, careful way, much better than doing it in a rush because the swarm must be hived in May. Frames assembled with glued joints on the top bar will hold their shape longer than ones which are just nailed. Despite the strength of modern wood glues I prefer to use a full set of nails, four in the top bar and another four to hold the un-glued bottom bars in place. When buying National brood frames it is worth asking for them to be supplied with Manley bottom bars which are much stronger than the usual slim items. These bars will make a better fixing for the drone comb which the bees like to build below the frames, and a firm base from which you can cut away the sealed cells if you wish to do so as part of your varroa control.