MARCH takes us from winter into spring and by the end of the month the days will be longer than the nights again. Of course this doesn't guarantee good weather, far from it. March is notoriously unpredictable. It can be gloriously sunny one week and then plunge us back into winter the next.

Because the weather can change so quickly it is better not to disturb the bees yet. As long as the hives are still heavy indicating that they have plenty of food left, the bees can be left alone until it is warm enough for their spring inspection. For that we need a nice warm day in April, meanwhile, there are still plenty of things for beekeepers to do in March.

Early spring in the apiary On sunny days, it is always worth spending a little time watching the hive entrance. Just by observing, you can tell a lot about what is, or is not, going on inside the hive. If the daytime temperature is over 12C (54F) then the bees should be flying, so on warm spring days you should see activity at the entrance. Foraging bees will be making the most of the sunny spells collecting early nectar, pollen and water. Housekeeping bees will be cleaning out cells ready for the queen to lay and expand the brood nest.

However, if there have been several warm days but you have seen no activity at all at the front door, be prepared for the worst. Lift the roof and peer down the hole in the crown board. If there is still no sign of life, gently lift the crown board and investigate further. Winter losses are very common and bees can die of many things. If the bees are dead, put the hive back together, seal up the entrance to prevent robbing and get some help from an experienced beekeeper to find out what they died of. Once you have established that the bees did not die of a notifiable disease you can clean the hive up. The easiest method is by using a blowlamp and giving the hive parts a light scorching on the inside. The frames may need replacing so that the hive is ready for new occupants. Hopefully though, your bees will be thriving.

Get your supers ready If you have had supers and frames in store over the winter, March is the time to get them out to give them an airing and to check that they have not been damaged by mice or moths. There has been a lot of trouble with wax moths this winter so do check the frames well before you need them in case there are repairs to do, or replacements are necessary. There is nothing worse than needing a super only to find the frames are ruined and riddled with wax moth grubs and cocoons. It is a time consuming chore to clean them up. In fact, it is much quicker to assemble new frames.

New frames can be put together well in advance, but it is best to fit the sheets of foundation wax only shortly before needed. The wax will start to dry out once exposed to the air and dry old wax is not so readily accepted by the bees. Any wax that was fitted last year and is not drawn out will probably have become brittle and is best replaced with new.

When to put supers on When you need to put the first super on will depend on where you live, what the weather and forage are like and how strong your bees are. An important thing to remember about bees is that they don't like waiting. If the bees are ready for a super, then they are ready for a super there and then. Not next week or when you get around to it, but straight away. In the warmest parts of the country, that may mean the end of March. In oilseed rape areas the fields should be bright yellow and yielding nectar in April. For the rest of us, supers may not be needed until May, but they should be ready and waiting, just in case.

As a general rule, when bees are covering all but the outside two frames in the brood chamber, it is time to put on the queen excluder and first super. The colony will be expanding rapidly and you must allow for this. It doesn't take many days of congestion in the hive to trigger the swarm impulse and that's when things can start to go very badly wrong.

Don't get caught out When you do your full spring inspection (which I'll deal with next month) you will be able to judge just how well your bees have come through the winter and how far advanced they are. The swarming season starts in early May, so from April onwards, once you see drones flying from the hive you must make time to do regular weekly inspections to check the colony's progress. Otherwise you may be caught out and lose a swarm without realising it.

There are many methods that can be used to prevent bees swarming and I'll explain some of these techniques in more detail a bit nearer to swarm time. Usually 'swarm control' simply means temporarily dividing the colony in some way. A simple 'artificial swarm' is a good method for beginners to use. It makes two manageable colonies out of one very strong one and provides the opportunity to rear a new queen in the process. However, it does need a spare hive and it does mean making an expansion in colony numbers in the apiary, at least until later in the year when the two parts can be put back together again for the main nectar flow.

New beekeepers are also often caught out because they do not realise that a colony of bees can work so quickly. When the nectar is in full flow and a colony is really strong, the bees can draw a super of foundation and fill it with nectar in a week. Then they will need another super fast. In a good year colonies in National hives will need three or four supers and sometimes more before the end of summer.

I know that this sounds like a lot of equipment and a big investment to make for one colony which, in March, may be quite small and only occupying part of a brood chamber. However, if the spring weather is kind and there is ample forage available, a colony of healthy bees can build up very fast indeed. It can sometimes be a difficult task for the beekeeper to stay one step ahead.

Points to remember Worker bees need sufficient super space to process the nectar and store the honey, without congesting the brood chamber where the queen needs room to lay her eggs. So each hive should have several supers available.

A good crop of honey usually depends on the beekeeper preventing the bees from swarming and this is easily done by splitting the colony into two, but spare basic hive parts are necessary.

So, bearing all this in mind, have you got enough spare equipment to allow for expansion?