Are they still alive?

At the time of year it’s still very cold but the bees are starting to emerge on warm days. I always put in the varroa boards for a few days, not only to check for the pesky little mites but also to see where the colony is and whether they are recapping stores. On this photograph the line of decappings can be seen. I can’t see any mites, but if you look carefully you might be able to see some eggs. At this time of the year the bees will limit the expansion of the brood nest by removing eggs especially in periods of very cold weather.