A local beekeeper is in eager anticipation of the telltale signs of spring.

Currently, Josh Wiebe of Border Hills Honey Ltd. has been moving his hives out of their overwinter shelters, assessing losses and sustaining the colonies on a protein supplement till flowering plants begin to bloom.

Wiebe says spring is always a stressful time for beekeepers, beginning the yearly procedures to ensure a hive's health.

"During the winter the hive raises very few new bees, so come spring much of the population is at least four-six months old. It becomes a race against the clock as the aged population begins to decline and brood rearing begins. Nearly all of the winter bees will die within the first 40 days out of the shed as they raise the first round of spring bees. So a healthy population coming out of the shed is important."

Based on insurance values, a healthy hive would be one that contains five to six frames of bees, three to four would be a weak colony, and anything less might not make it to summer.

Every beekeeper has a different set of metrics to decide when it's time to move their bees says Wiebe. He explains their's is night-time temperatures no lower than -5 Celsius, and then wait for a forecast of two-three days with highs above 10 Celsius.

For the most part, Wiebe says their hives faced minimal losses, and what he's heard from other keepers, their colonies have fared well too. One of the issues beekeepers were facing was the early fall; Wiebe says because of the lack of flowering plants, supplements were a necessity to keep a hive's strength up.

Though spring preparations are incredibly busy, Wiebe says local beekeepers aren't slacking during the winter months. On the first Tuesday each month, a group called the South Central Beekeepers Association meets at the Morden library to discuss new advances in the field and better ways to care for their bees.

"We'll discuss industry items; we do have more for-profit beekeepers, but we do have a mix of commercial to one or two hive hobbyists, so we try to talk about things where people have questions for the more senior beekeepers. We had a provincial apiarist come out and talk about disease and prevention at our last meeting."

Wiebe notes attendance has grown steadily over the months and encourages anyone interested to come to their next meeting which will have a member of Manitoba Agriculture speak on canola, as most of the local honey supply derives from this crop.