In April in Pueblo, Colorado, beekeeping centers around managing rapid colony expansion, preventing swarming, and ensuring your bees have enough food during unpredictable spring weather.
Hive Inspections & Spring Management
- Inspect on warm days: Open hives when temperatures reach at least 50°F to 55°F with low wind.
- Check the queen and brood: Look for a solid brood pattern, eggs, young larvae, and incoming pollen.
- Reverse brood chambers: If you wintered in two deep boxes, flip them if the top box is empty and the bottom box is full of bees to give the queen more room to lay.
- Combine weak colonies: If a hive survived winter very weak or is drone-laying, merge it with a stronger colony.
Feeding & Nutrition
- Feed 1:1 sugar syrup: Stimulate brood rearing with a 1:1 sugar-to-water ratio if natural forage is scarce or during cold and rainy stretches.
- Provide pollen patties: Supplement with pollen patties if natural tree and wildflower pollen sources are inconsistent.
- New packages/nucs: If you are installing new bees or nucs in April, feed them constantly (they can consume up to a gallon of syrup a week) to help them build wax comb.
Swarm Prevention
- Watch for overcrowding: April is a peak month for colonies to run out of space and attempt to swarm.
- Inspect for queen cells: Check frames weekly for swarm cells (peanut-shaped cups, usually along the bottom edges of frames).
- Add space or split: Add the next brood box or make a spring split before they decide to swarm.
- Pueblo Swarm Hotline: If you spot or catch a swarm or need local removal help, contact the Pueblo County Extension Office at 719-583-6566 or reach out to local apiarists listed through the Pueblo County Beekeepers Association (PCBA).
Pests & Local Regulations
- Varroa mite checks: Monitor mite levels using an alcohol wash or sugar roll test before honey supers go on.
- City limits rule: If you live inside the city of Pueblo, remember that local regulations limit properties to a maximum of two honeybee hives.