This is the quiet time. The beekeeper should make sure hives are inclined forward to permit moisture drainage. If food stores are low (colony is very light when you tip it from the back), it is advisable to open hives on warm days and feed a heavy syrup of 2 parts sugar to one part water. Hive top feeders are advisable; entrance feeders generally are not. Division board feeders have the liability of causing many bees to drown. In an emergency situation in which the colony is near starvation, the best feeding method is to invert a gallon can of syrup, with one or two tiny perforations in the lid, directly on the top bars of the combs housing the clustering bees. The can is then covered with an empty super. This puts the food directly where the bees are with no risk of drowning. Now is the time for dusting colonies with Terramycin for foulbrood control. You may treat for varroa mites if you can retrieve 1-10 varroa mites with an overnight sticky sheet on the bottom board. Floral sources: red maple, dandelion.

Synopsis of Bee Management / UGA Honey Bee Program / UGA Entomology Department