1. Monthly priorities

• Carry out the spring inspection only when a genuine weather window allows.
• Check brood, queen presence, and above all food stores without delay.
• Ensure a clean, accessible watering point from the moment activity resumes.
• Adapt the brood nest space to the actual strength of the colony.
• Monitor varroa, hygiene, and signs of disease before problems become established.

2. March at the apiary : the guiding idea for the month

Objective To understand that March is the month in which one moves from the cautious observation of late winter to a more active, but still very measured, spring management approach.

In March, the colony genuinely restarts, but remains vulnerable to cold snaps, food shortages, and timing errors. The month therefore calls for targeted decisions: inspect at the right moment, assess colony condition promptly, adjust space, secure water and food, and keep a watchful eye on health. The key point is not to do a great deal, but to intervene precisely and usefully. As always, the calendar depends on altitude, aspect, local weather conditions, and the actual strength of the colonies.

Further reading

• February at the apiary
• Surprising figures about bees

3. Priority tasks for the month

3.1 Carrying out the spring inspection and assessing colony condition

Objective To carry out an early colony assessment — queen presence, brood, and food stores — as soon as a mild day allows. The general inspection helps to plan the season and detect any problems: absent or failing queen, poor brood pattern, inadequate food supply, or signs of disease.

What to look for
The presence of the queen or at least fresh eggs, the brood pattern — which should be dense and uniform — the distribution of bees across the frames, the level of food stores still available in the combs, and any unusual health indicator.

Concrete actions

• Schedule the inspection on a sunny, warm day, ideally above 14 °C.
• Use a gentle puff of smoke at the entrance to calm the bees, then open the hive quickly.
• Examine the brood, verify the presence of the queen or fresh eggs, and observe how the bees are distributed across the frames.
• Check whether sufficient food remains in the combs.

Points to watch
Do not inspect in cold or wet weather, as this risks chilling the brood. Work gently and quickly to minimise stress on the bees. Begin with the most vigorous colonies, which are likely to be in good health, and finish with the weakest, which may be diseased, in order to reduce the risk of infectious contamination. Watch for any foul odour: it may indicate European or American foulbrood, both notifiable diseases. In cases of serious health concern, contact the bee inspector before destroying or moving the colony.

Further reading

• Practical Guide: 4.5.1 Finding the queen
• Recognising bee diseases
• Practical Guide: 2.1 American foulbrood

3.2 Managing brood nest space and frames

Objective To optimise hive space in order to maintain brood temperature and support colony expansion without wasting energy.

What to look for
The actual size of the colony, the volume it effectively occupies, the condition of the frames, the cohesion of the brood nest, the regularity of the bee spaces between frames, and the colony's ability to defend its entrance.

Concrete actions

• Draw together the occupied frames in the brood box to reduce the volume to be heated if the colony is still small.
• Remove empty or blackened frames and replace them progressively with clean foundation.
• If the colony is strong, prepare additional frames. Never expand space for a weak colony.
• Ensure that frame spacing is regular to avoid brace comb.
• Reduce the hive entrance to a minimal opening to ease defence, using an entrance block if necessary, particularly in the context of the Asian hornet.

Points to watch
Remove empty frames gently, keeping the brood frames well grouped together. Ensure that removed frames are properly stored, out of light and away from wax moth. Avoid adding a super too early if the brood box population is not large enough to fill it quickly: this can encourage robbing or the development of problems in the empty space.

Further reading

• Frame construction
• Practical Guide: 2.6 Wax moth
• Maintenance of beekeeping equipment

4. Bee health

Objective To assess varroa infestation and limit the impact of parasites and diseases before they spread.

The best prevention is strong, healthy colonies
It is not necessary to know every disease. The essential skill is knowing how to recognise a healthy colony, and then identifying what deviates from that picture. When in doubt, it is better to seek help promptly and contact the bee inspector.
Useful practical guide: 4.7.3. Recognising healthy colonies

Varroa

What to look for
The natural mite drop, the condition of adult bees, any presence of deformed wings or abnormal mortality, the condition of the brood, and any symptom of brood disease — foulbrood, chalkbrood, viral disease, or other parasitic infestation.

Concrete actions

• Place a varroa insert board or a sheet of cellulose under the brood box to measure the natural mite drop. The natural mite drop count must not exceed 3 per day.
• Carry out a diagnostic test — using icing sugar, CO₂, or alcohol wash — to estimate the infestation level.
• Monitor the bees: deformed wings or abnormal mortality are possible signs of infestation.
• Begin varroa management strategies: regularly remove capped drone brood every 2 to 3 weeks to destroy mites trapped in the cells and significantly reduce the parasite load.
• Plan a recommended treatment if necessary if varroa pressure is high.

Points to watch
An undetected or underestimated varroa infestation level can explode by the end of the season. Treat colonies with a recommended product or method if the infestation level becomes critical, referring to the thresholds set by the SSA. Do not use unauthorised treatments and always follow the product instructions — oxalic acid, for example, is only effective in broodless colonies. Remain alert to any symptom of brood disease during inspections; if in doubt, isolate the hive and call the bee inspector. More broadly, any suspicious odour or sign consistent with a notifiable disease requires caution: do not improvise.

Chalkbrood
With alternating mild spells, cold snaps, and moisture, chalkbrood may become more apparent. The most telling sign is the presence of white to black mummies on the alighting board or in cells, often at the edge of the brood nest.
Practical Guide: 2.4. Chalkbrood

Dysentery diseases (nosema / dysentery)
In March, dysentery diseases — especially once the first cleansing flights make the signs more visible — remain relevant. Faecal spotting, bees crawling or unable to fly, and a colony losing population warrant close attention.
Practical Guide: 2.5. Dysentery diseases (Nosema/dysentery)

Asian hornet
In March, depending on the region and conditions, young Asian hornet queens may begin to become active again and seek a sheltered location for a primary nest. During the first inspections, it is worth keeping an eye out near eaves, sheds, hedges, or window frames. If anything suspicious is spotted, photograph it from a distance and report the case at frelonasiatique.ch.

Further reading

• Practical Guide 1.1: Varroa management concept
• Practical Guide: 1.5.1 Natural mite drop count
• Practical Guide: 1.4.1 Drone brood removal

5. Food stores and current resources

5.1 Food stores and feeding

Objective To ensure that each colony has sufficient food to sustain laying and brood rearing until the first flowering.

What to look for
The food frames — honey and pollen — the overall weight of the colony, the rate of consumption linked to brood rearing, the weather forecast, and whether sufficient natural forage is available or not.

Concrete actions

• Check the food frames — honey and pollen — during the inspection.
• Bear in mind that a colony rearing brood can consume 1 to 2 kg of honey per week in March.
• If the brood box is light or the frames are empty, feed carefully with fondant, which will be consumed as needed and stored little if at all.
• Use a warm 50/50 water-sugar syrup if necessary to stimulate laying while avoiding nutritional deficiencies.
• Introduce feeding only if the weather forecast is unfavourable or if natural forage is lacking, due to insufficient resources and/or too few foragers.

Points to watch
Do not feed royal jelly or uncontrolled honey, due to the health risk. Avoid giving syrup if the temperature is below 10–12 °C: the bees make poor use of it and it may ferment. Introduce food in a way that limits excess moisture and do not open several hives simultaneously in cold weather. Be careful not to over-stimulate: excessive stimulation in March can drive a poorly controlled dynamic in April.

Further reading

• 10 rules for good beekeeping practice
• Infernal cascade: chronicle of a death foretold

5.2 Water for the colony

Objective To ensure a nearby watering point for honey dilution and brood moisture regulation.

What to look for
The presence of a functional watering point from the end of winter, its exposure, its stability, the ability of bees to land without drowning, and the actual quality of the water.

Concrete actions

• Install a bee watering point from the end of winter.
• Place it in a sunny, sheltered spot to attract foragers.
• Add floats — foam, twigs, stones, or corks — so that bees can land and avoid drowning.
• Keep the water clean; adding a pinch of salt or minerals can encourage its adoption.

Points to watch
Check regularly that the water does not freeze at the bottom of the watering point; if necessary, use a better-insulated container. Do not use dirty stagnant water or chemically treated water. A poorly maintained watering point can divert bees towards polluted sources and create health problems.

Further reading

• What water for our bees?

6. Workshop / organisation

Objective To clean, repair, and prepare all the equipment needed for the season, with disease prevention firmly in mind.

March is also a month for organisation. Equipment must be ready before the spring acceleration, and hygiene must be approached as a full management measure in its own right, not as a secondary task.

• Use the first inspection to scrape and clean the hive floor insert, removing debris, cocoons, and excess propolis.
• Scorch equipment with a flame or disinfect with Halades 01; alcohol and bleach are not recommended — see the practical guide on veterinary medicines.
• Replace floors that are too corroded or cracked.
• Renew at least 3 to 4 brood box frames per year to promote hygiene and reduce pesticide exposure.
• Prepare a stock of drawn frames and spare floors.

Points to watch
To avoid unduly disturbing the bees and chilling the brood, the colony can be quickly and completely transferred with its frames into a clean, disinfected hive. The emptied hive is then cleaned and disinfected at leisure in the workshop according to the protocol recommended by the SSA.

Further reading

• Practical Guide: 4.1 Hygiene
• Rehousing for health purposes
• Beeswax contamination

7. What we do not do now

Objective To avoid premature interventions that slow the colony down, increase health risks, or unnecessarily complicate spring management.

• Avoid complex operations: do not divide colonies or begin rehousing before weather conditions and colony population allow. Do not set up complex mating hives too early.
• No honey harvest or extraction: no nectar flow is yet under way.
• Do not apply complex or unnecessary treatments — for example, an acaricide without indication — that could slow or block the development of a colony that is still fragile.
• Do not feed heavily with 50 % syrup if the colony is not short of food stores, in order to avoid excessive laying stimulation in the event of a late frost.

General remarks
Priorities and timing vary according to altitude, aspect, local weather conditions, and colony strength. If a notifiable disease is suspected, contact the bee inspector before taking any personal initiative.

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See also:

• April at the apiary
• Integrated varroa management through the seasons
• Recognising bee diseases
• 10 rules for good beekeeping practice
• Infernal cascade: chronicle of a death foretold
• What water for our bees?

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