Are you still inspecting? November?

[Into the lions den]

Murray is still making nucs.....or Jolanta is ..... but they are running a business and they both know exactly what they are doing. I still don't sometimes, even after 15 years

LOL...but that's not something I would advocate...........inspecting bees when there is no good reason is going to cost you more colonies than leaving them alone...nip the queen at this time of year and the colony is toast.

That Jolanta has made 100 nucs in October and will even make a final 4 today on 6th November is NOT normal. In 75 years of this business we have never done a nuc after about 5th Oct before....but it is feasible because the parent hives are extremely strong and good queens being found as they tidy up the mating boxes.

Not a 'do as we do' situation.

and.....'running a business' and 'knowing what they are doing' are not invariably linked factors..........

 

[Curly green finger's]

So ...bit late for uniting prior to winter ? Bit late for requeening ? I'm just a hobbyist but if these things were necessary this late then IMHO they were necessary much earlier ? No matter how mild it is the bees are getting sorted for winter and fiddling of this sort is just unnecessary disturbance ..

Let's not encourage those with less experience than you to indulge in antics of this sort ...

Well last October I was putting mini nucs into 3 frame nucs, introducing a queen in October to a imperfect supersedure has saved me colonys, each season I plan to have as many mini nucs/3 frame nucs for the spring.
A bf I know had grafts in September.
In almost a decade of beekeeping our seasons /autumns are milder that’s a fact, late raised queens from July/august are rearing drones and even taking them through winter.
I’m not advocating for other beekeepers to keep inspecting but for me I’ve had my reasons.

Also there are many a past well known beekeepers who have passed on that for experience/educational purposes have inspected in winter even.

As it stands I’m a hobbyist/ small scale bf with to many colony’s.

 

[madasafish]

I stopped inspections July..After that it is "invasion of the wasps"

 

[ldwgs]

I’ve only been checking for fondant stores as they’re burning through it with all this mild weather.
Had good reason to check a hive today. All others flying (14 degrees here), this one dead quiet. Believe they’ve been decimated by some sort of rodent predation as piles of eviscerated dead bees behind the hive which I suspected was the case a few weeks ago so they’ve had a mouseguard on since then (I don’t usually need them at home).
Feraing the worst, I opened up to find the queen, a small cluster of bees, a little patch of brood but loads of stores, so not robbed out. Not many dead bees on the floor, no sign of varroa or other disease. Have moved them to one side of a 2x3 nuc with stores and added a small block of candipoline in the feeder to see if that helps. Not overly hopeful of their chances.

checked mine 2 weeks bag good amount of hiney in the hives and they were bringing in pollen till yesterday when it was very cold so will pop fondant on tomorrw

 

[pargyle]

checked mine 2 weeks bag good amount of hiney in the hives and they were bringing in pollen till yesterday when it was very cold so will pop fondant on tomorrw

Why ? If they have a good amount of honey and you have the hives up to weight for winter why do you feel they also need fondant ? In spring, if they feel light, is the time for fondant.

 

[Anduril]

I haven't been in the hives since the end of July, other than getting help to remove the supers and asking my wife to drive me to the apiaries to add apivar strips and again to remove them. Getting frustrated because I cannot drive until February when I will be medically fit to do so.

 

[gwt_uk]

No def not inspecting. Only went into them today to quickly remove varroa strips.

 

[robmort]

If it were a warm day I'd be tempted to inspect just for educational purposes to see how they are getting on at this time of year, being careful not to disturb them too much, though I can see their general health through the perspex crown boards.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If it were a warm day I'd be tempted to inspect just for educational purposes

so for no real reason then

 

[robmort]

so for no real reason then

It's always useful to see and find out what's going on if it does no harm, even if you don't believe in learning though experience.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

using the word 'learning' in this case is just using it to justify unnecessary fiddling for the sake of it - a malaise that has cursed this craft for years, mostly thanks to those on the dark side.

 

[ericbeaumont]

find out what's going on if it does no harm

Have to agree with JBM, Rob: plenty of opportunity to learn inside a hive during the season.

see how they are getting on at this time of year

careful not to disturb them too much

Not sure how you could learn much without causing disturbance.

don't believe in learning though experience.

Reckon we would all agree that practical experience is the better route to learning.

 

[drex]

Through practical experience I am learning good husbandry. That tells me to open at this time.e of year is not in the bees best interests

 

[Martimart]

Not been anywhere near them since honey came off and strips went on. By the time September comes around, I'm not sure who's most sick of the sight of who, them of me or me of them. Which reminds me, I've got to take the strips off at the weekend, but it's not long until I give them a trickle of the good stuff, so I'll probably wait, take the strips out and trickle at the same time. Spring will be here in a heartbeat and then it all starts again.