Dear Friends,
I’m looking out my window at home as I type this and I swear I just saw the Hosta grow another inch in front of my eyes. A Rose-Breasted Grosbeak has planted itself at the birdfeeder and seems happy to just sit and eat the occasional sunflower seed. A squirrel is giving it his best to perch upside down on the suet feeder and grab some lunch. I do enjoy a spring day in Maine.
April into May brings a big change to Skidompha’s beehive. Our hive did very well over the winter with a healthy population surviving the cold and ready to start up their spring chores of cleaning, gathering nectar and pollen, and caring for the queen and her brood.
Looking back at my records for last year there were new eggs and larva by April 9th, and we had capped brood on April 17th. We’re running close to that schedule now with lots of capped brood showing in good laying patterns. According to beekeepers that I’ve talked to, a good laying pattern starts at the center of the frame and spirals outward as the queen makes ever larger circles as she deposits her eggs. The brood should be more or less of similar age, and there should not be many empty cells. And that’s what we have.
The hive seems quite active with a lot of traffic going out, and many of the returning bees coming back laden with pollen. I’ve yet to see the queen but it is very apparent that she has been busy. I’m looking forward to seeing how they do over the rest of the spring and summer. I expect new bees to emerge somewhere between this weekend and next, maybe a little later for the drones.
Be well,
Matthew
Matthew Graff
Executive Director
Skidompha Public Library