April was a mild month with many warm, still days. The odd hint that winter was coming was evident with the heavy dews on the lawn in the mornings and the ever-decreasing hours of daylight.

The mild autumn has allowed the bees to fly freely most days. Around the city the bees have gathered much needed pollen reserves and a little late nectar from waste areas where plants like gorse (Ulex europarus), wild turnip (Brassica campestris), and inkweed (Phytolacca octandra) grow. In urban gardens and parks there are numerous ornamentals which bees visit. I was watching the bees visit the pink flowering eucalyptus laucoxylon rosea which has just started flowering around the city and will continue for the next couple of months. In the bush, lacebark (hoheria populnea) is just finishing; the climbing rata vine (metrosideros fulgens ) is also in flower. It provides a spectacular contrast with its orange/red flowers against the green of the bush. Along roadsides Spanish heath (Erica lusitanica) is just starting to flower, another very valuable winter pollen and nectar source.

Bee activity is now greatly reduced to the hours between 10 am and 3.30 pm. Hives along the coastal margins continue brood rearing in about half a frame while those inland totally shut down as its getting too cold to fly and there is very little there for them to forage on.

Actually it's quite interesting to see the difference between old and new queens. New queens have about three times as much brood as old queens. Although drone production has ceased, in hives working late flows they are still present but are being forced down into the bottom super, which means there time is short.

At this time of the year frames are sorted for melting down. Dark (those you cannot see light through when held up to the sun), broken or frames with patches of drone comb should be selected for culling. Recently published research from the UK* using computer model simulation indicated that with 5% drone brood, as many mites are emerging from 50 - 60 drone cells as 1000 worker cells. Their research also indicated drone sampling was effective in the spring and that infestation of 15% of drone pupa would indicate that a conservative threshold of 2000 mites had been reached and that treatment was immediately required. It is therefore important to restrict drone production to only one or two frames, which can be removed or used to capture mites when they arrive in your district.

I have found it more economical to just cut the wires and use dark combs as a source of heat rather than go to the expense of melting them down. Ten dark frame burned in our enclosed fire will heat your hot water cylinder 10 degrees C during the evening. Three paraffin dipped old super will give the same results. A word of warning. Make sure you have had the chimney swept as the heat given off when burning old frames will cause chimney fires. Our aluminium cowling melted one year when we had a chimney fire and those flames sure upset our neighbours.

Before putting aside the frames for rewiring, I test them for strength by giving the end bars a whack with the hive tool. If they crack, they are kindling. Those that are solid are cleaned up and put aside for rewiring and waxing in the spring. It's often easier to clean the frames up when they are warm. They can be put in the solar wax melter during the day or stacked and sealed in supers over a 60-watt bulb over night.

Winter is time for reading and planning. I like the older books that tell of beekeepers experiences. They tried this and this resulted. CC Miller's, 50 Years Among the Bees and Ormond & Harry Aebi's books, The Art and Adventure of Beekeeping and Mastering the Art of Beekeeping are good examples. Most of these are available from the NBA library along with many others. This winter try and set a plan for the coming year. Find out about queen rearing. A good starting point is Queen Rearing Simplified by Vince Cook (at one time an AAO in the South Island) and for the more adventurous Steve Taber's book Breeding Super Bees. For a how to reference book, TSK & MP Johansson's book, Some Important Operations in Bee Management gives all the alternatives. Our library also has some very good books.

Enjoy the winter, read a few books and plan for what if. What if it's a bumper honey crop next year or for some, what if varroa is found in our area. Try out different techniques. Demaree if you have a short sharp flow. This system is a little more intensive but allows you to replace woodware quickly and can produce more honey. For other with long flows, how about double queening a hive. There are various methods. Some use side by side, some use a divider in the middle of the bottom super where each queen is given 5 frames to lay in and other systems allow the queen to use one super and are kept apart with queen excluders.

Visit your hives a few times during the winter. Keep the grass down and entrances reduced to protect hives from mice and wasps. Lift the roof on a winter's morning and check for condensation. If the hives are wet, put small sticks or matches under the mat or roof to give extra ventilation. Too much will mean there is extra airflow which will result in more store being used by the bees to keep warm. Too little has the same result. I cut a 25 mm slot in my hive mats and this seems to be about right. Clear away vegetation around the hives so they get some sun during the day. Add a piece of wood to the front of the hives so those bees landing short on cold winter days can climb back into the hive.

Beekeeping in city areas has been in decline during the last twenty years mainly because of people's intolerance to stinging insects. Varroa is coming so now its time to tell the general public that bees are essential for our environment.

Social insects are part of the school program so why not make your self available to talk to a class on bees for a few hours. Make a one frame observation hives and put that old queen in it. Children are fascinated with bees. Take note of the child that just hangs around looking into the hive for hours. He or she could well be a future beekeeper - encourage them.

We also take samples of different honeys with us and give some to the classes. Cooking is an enjoyable activity, its part of chemistry and honey adds to the taste and the enjoyment. If you need assistance to do this we have a selection of posters, advice and support data..