Early Spring Brood Patterns

[Allen Dick]

As for brood patterns, I don't expect much this early in the spring. Shotgun patterns are the rule here and I see very few patterns that are ideal since the hives are short of pollen.

Once the pollen comes in, things improve, and the patterns improve enough to judge, but beekeepers must be aware that the frames with shotgun brood will stay that way for several cycles since a good queen will fill empty cells immediately, maintaining the existing pattern.

I am slow to condemn a queen for a poor pattern and wait until the season advances a bit before deciding. Early in the year, the queen is seldom the one factor limiting build-up. Hive populations, disease, nutrition, and the amount of comb that can be kept at brood temperature tend to be bigger influences.

[Vance G]

I did the first top to bottom look yesterday and found more shotgun brood patterns than not, but saw big concentric rings of like aged brood in many. I ran out of gas and equipment with three left in the yard I was working. I also blithely worked on down the line and did not skip the one that gets split as soon as my queen order comes in. Why do the terribly defensive ones always have to be the very best colony you have? The most brood, the most bees, clean bottom board and still with good amounts of winter stores! But, they have to go. Every time I would bend over and my jeans got tight I would get pounded on the cheeks! No fun at all. The landowners run a bird dog training facility and too many dudes passing by to harbor this kind of bees even if I wanted to let them live. I figure about four splits will put things in better perspective for them.

The darker genetics in this isolated location come from treatment free breeders and every year I have to deal with one or two of this temperament. They do winter more frugally as none of these bees were short of stores while the other location I maintain is stocked with commercial Italians and they winter well and are building up huge but would have starved by now but for my mountain camp feed and syrup this spring. They will also produce more honey too.

[Allen Dick]

I wrote that I was seeing shotgun patterns yesterday, but at the time I had not looked into the hives for a few days due to wind, and the last ones I looked at had had not received patties yet.

Today I looked into hives that have had two patties since the end of March and they are booming. A typical frame with brood is shown in today's diary.