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The Clover Front Moves Northward

Takayuki Ono
Yamada Bee Farm,
Beekeeping Division

Spring has finally arrived and the honeybees have become very active. The worker bees have again returned today with white and yellow pollen on their hind legs.
In this section I will first explain about colony propagation and then will discuss the work we do to prepare for the spring. Propagation means increasing the number of honeybees in a colony (one hive). Over the winter the number of honeybees dwindles to just several thousand, but under the right conditions they will increase again to over 40,000, which is a strong number for a colony and suitable for collecting honey. This propagation must actually take place before spring arrives and before the clover flowers bloom in mid-April in order to get the most clover honey.
First, in February we set the hives in the sunshine around the time that the "ume" and Speedwell (Veronica Persica) bloom. Inside the hive the temperature rises to 35°C, at which time the queen bee begins laying eggs and the brood is raised. When the flowers bloom, the worker bees collect pollen, and the bees secrete royal jelly that is used to feed the queen.
Usually royal jelly is secreted by young bees only days old, but the worker bees that lived through the winter are already several months old. Even so, these old worker bees do their best to secrete even small amounts of royal jelly to produce the next generation. That is why egg-laying is still low at this time and the brood area in the honeycomb is still small.

When stretches of a few warm days alternate with cold days in the early spring, the colony starts to become active. We remove the winter covering around the vernal equinox (March 21), and then cover the hives for the winter to protect the honeybee colonies from cold air, wind, and rain. By keeping the heat in, the covering prevents the bees from dying from the cold and allows a greater number of worker bees to make it through the winter.
When the new worker bees hatch, royal jelly secretion and egg-laying increases. As the young worker bees get older day by day and are about ready to go out foraging, the changing of the generations takes place. The worker bees that lived through the winter rapidly die off.
In early April we move the hives from the warm area to a clover field. We consider the placement of the hives to achieve the right balance between the area of flowering clover and the number of honeybee colonies.

The larger bee indicated by an arrow is the drone.

In Kagamino, April is the season of cherry and rapeseed blossoms. When these appear the hives soon become full of honeybees. When egg-laying is observed in the outermost honeycombs we stack a second super on top. For the first time we see male bees--the drones--start to be born at this time.
Cherry blossoms, by the way, do not have much nectar that can be collected, but they do provide a lot of pollen. During cherry blossom viewing season, everyone's attention is usually drawn to the vivid blossoms, but listen closely at the foot of a tree and you'll hear the buzzing sound of the worker bees. They are having a spring feast. The honeybees are joined by bumblebees, too, enjoying the bounty of springtime.
In the middle of April, immediately after the clover starts to flower we have the first honey extraction of the year. This honey contains a mixture of nectar from the previous year that was food for the bees over the winter and honey from a variety of early spring flowers, so this removal is also done to clean the hive. By performing this first honey removal we are later able to get pure, unadulterated clover honey.

Also, the more honey is stored in the hive, the less active honeybees become. When we remove the honey and the stores suddenly disappear, the bees will again work energetically. In Kagamino, clover honey can be obtained from late April to early May.
This is the most exciting season of the year for obtaining honey. Just as the honeybees become active, our work also gets busy at this time of year.