March

Remove mouseguards. Carry out a quick inspection if weather suitable. Check food reserves and feed sugar syrup if necessary (1 part sugar to 1 part water) using a rapid feeder. Monitor natural varroa mite drop and plan treatment if necessary. Prepare clean brood frames and foundation for replacement. Prepare supers and queen excluders.
Prepare a spare hive with frames and foundation for swarm control.
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April

At the first full inspection, check for worker brood, eggs and young larvae. Mark queens if desired. Remove poor and old combs and replace with new foundation Put supers on hives before honey flow starts. Don’t forget the Queen excluder. Practice your chosen swarm control method before you find queen cells

May

Monitor Varroa levels throughout the season using floor screens or other methods as suggested by your association. Apply control methods if necessary. Begin swarm control inspections, looking for queen cells and know what to do if they are found. Arrange to receive a nucleus if that is how you want to start

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