Beekeeping Tips for May

1. The honey flow continues and chances of swarming continue. Be sure there is enough room for egg laying, especially below the queen excluder if one is used. Check for swarm cells.

2. Check supers weekly. Do not wait until one is full of honey before adding another.

3. If bees are making honey, leave the brood box alone.

4. No medicating this month.

5. New colonies can still be started in May. Package bees might still be available.

6. Continue to feed package bees and nucs. Move nucs into full size hives. If your bee yard has both established colonies and nucs or packages, use entrance reducers to prevent robbing.

7. Plan ahead and be sure to have the necessary supplies and containers for extracting honey. Order containers and labels as necessary for your honey crop.

8. Some supers may already be full of honey. Honey may be extracted from these supers and the empty frames can be returned to the hive to be refilled.

9. Check swarm traps for free bees.