Best time of Day for an Inspection

[shazzer]

I have to do my first inspection and wondered if there was a best time of day to do an inspection.

Weather looks pretty good today very light winds plenty of sun.

 

[nickysolar]

Afternoon, on a warm day thus lots of bees will be busy on the wing and the hive will be a little less full and daunting for you!

 

[shazzer]

Afternoon, on a warm day thus lots of bees will be busy on the wing and the hive will be a little less full and daunting for you!

Thanks Nickysolar. That sounds like a plan hopefully all the bees returning with pollen will not be too upset.

Hoping to set up a tripod and video camera so I can record quite a bit to study at my leisure.

 

[Arfermo]

Afternoon, on a warm day thus lots of bees will be busy on the wing and the hive will be a little less full and daunting for you!

Don't bet on it!!! Bees don't work to any programme - they do what they want when they want. Best time is almost any time that suits you so long as you are dressed and equipped for the job.

 

[JWF]

Don't bet on it!!! Bees don't work to any programme - they do what they want when they want. Best time is almost any time that suits you so long as you are dressed and equipped for the job.

I agree with nickysolar - If you do it early evening it can be quite daunting as you'll find the hive much busier than if you do it during the afternoon - as long as it is still warm enough it won't harm the bees, but it makes finding the Q (or queen cells at this time of year) much more difficult in my experience. Sometimes you've got no choice due to work hours, but best avoided really.

I wouldn't fancy inspecting an aggressive or tetchy hive early evening, that's for sure!

 

[shazzer]

First Inspection all done.

Weather was too good to wait, so I did it at 10am this morning. There were lots of bees out on the wing so I supposed it was as good as it was going to get.

Bees just seemed normal at bit upset and wondering what was going on but they did nothing that would I term as being aggressive.

I had 8 frames to look at. No Queen cells lots of capped brood heaps of stores lots of larvae at different stages some of them very tiny could not find any eggs or the queen but I have a feeling she was there somewhere and my searching skills need to be improved. I did see 2 larvae in one cell which I don't understand.

Only bit of an issue was I put an empty frame with wooden starter strip in at one end. In 6 days they have nearly drawn the whole thing out and put stores in it. But when I very carefully tried to lift it. It broke off about a quarter of the way from the top. It appears they have stuck the comb to the side of the hive. Don't know how I will tidy that up. Decided to leave it for now as it was full of stores and very soft so would have made a hell of a mess if I had tried to pull it out.

 

[alfazer]

I reckon 11am to 12noon. Lots of bees out on the wing but few of them have made it back yet, so there are less bees in the hive.

 

[Poly Hive]

re the video, and 10am is a bit early, please forget the tech stuff until you can inspect with confidence. Your primary need is to see eggs. Use the sunlight so stand with your back to it. If there are upright eggs they are freshly laid and she is there and doing what she should. Double larvae is not very common but yep seen it.

PH

 

[shazzer]

Thanks PH

I just set up the video on a tripod to record everything so I could take a long look afterwards as I was inspecting the frames I did it close to the camera for me to review later.

Will wear some stronger glasses next time and see if I can see some upright eggs.

Intention is to leave them alone now for a week. They are piling so much pollen in I am absolutely amazed. I think I have caught the bug ;-)

Any tips on how I can deal with the frame of new comb they have stuck to the side of the box its not just at the top it seems its fixed all the way down?

 

[enrico]

A long sharp knife run down the side of the box will free it, or just lift it out and then scrape the wax off the side of the hive with hive tool . The bees will repair any damage. Sometimes they get totally the wrong idea with end frames and cock them up totally. I replace those for them to try again!
E

 

[shazzer]

It was so soft I thought I had better leave it for the time being. I will have a crack at it with a long knife next week. Thanks enrico.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Weather was too good to wait, so I did it at 10am this morning.

Sounds as good a time as any - usually start my inspections about then unless it's a very slow start to the day by ten it's usually warm but not too hot to be in a beesuit. All our beginner's sessions at the association apiary start at ten as well

 

[shazzer]

Yes I think its a good time. It gave them the rest of the day to settle back down and get back to foraging and in hive stuff. They should have been nice and relaxed by bed time.

Although I think some are on the night shift, as having them outside my back door I often pop out and top up their rapid feeder and see them still working.

Today after a couple of hours we could wander about near the hive and they did not bother us. All seemed to be forgiven for the intrusion.

 

[pargyle]

It was so soft I thought I had better leave it for the time being. I will have a crack at it with a long knife next week. Thanks enrico.

Very often you find that this brace comb is just at the top of the frames and you can just slide your hive tool down between the frame and the end wall and ease the comb away from the wall . draw the frame out and tidy the extra comb off - I keep a plastic box with a lid around when I'm doing inspections for just this purpose.

I also keep an uncapping knife in my bee box just in case they do get a bit too enthusiastic with the brace comb .. cheap as chips from Simon the Beekeeper on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beekeeper...hash=item3ccd8dab1d:m:mP_YPnAfSxcEXekFeq60POw

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

. draw the frame out and tidy the extra comb off - I keep a plastic box with a lid around when I'm doing inspections for just this purpose.

So do I - they're called pockets just had my weekly empty out into the wax bin now - found a lighter and a hive check that I thought I'd lost

 

[BeeJayBee]

Will wear some stronger glasses next time and see if I can see some upright eggs.

Buy a magnifying glass and keep it in your kit box, then it doesn't matter about the stronger glasses.

I inspect late morning or early afternoon because it suits my timetable, never had any problems with it.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

If the un-foundationed combs are breaking, it may be that you should have included two or three horizontal wires or fishing lines, under tension, across the hive. This reinforcement should prevent sagging/breaking comb.

How close are you to having 3/4 of your brood frames covered in brood. If you are anywhere near this figure, you should think about adding a super. My bees added 2 1/2 frames of 14x12 brood (5 frames to 71/2) in 7 days and were overdue for a super by the time I did my inspection - that was, I think, all down to 3 or 4 days of warm weather with little or no wind and lots of fruit trees in flower.

These bees that you're inspecting - were they the nuc that you had ordered or were they the swarm that you were hoping for?

CVB

 

[shazzer]

If the un-foundationed combs are breaking, it may be that you should have included two or three horizontal wires or fishing lines, under tension, across the hive. This reinforcement should prevent sagging/breaking comb.

How close are you to having 3/4 of your brood frames covered in brood. If you are anywhere near this figure, you should think about adding a super. My bees added 2 1/2 frames of 14x12 brood (5 frames to 71/2) in 7 days and were overdue for a super by the time I did my inspection - that was, I think, all down to 3 or 4 days of warm weather with little or no wind and lots of fruit trees in flower.

These bees that you're inspecting - were they the nuc that you had ordered or were they the swarm that you were hoping for?

CVB

I am at about 60% brood. I will consider adding the super in 7 days time.
The NUC of Blacks was installed a day after the scout bees were checking out my hive. I was not really hoping for a swarm, but if it had happened I would not have turned them away. Happy I have my Cornish Blacks installed they are little beauties and doing a great job.

https://www.facebook.com/tree.camper.5/videos/653159924838123/

 

[shazzer]

Very often you find that this brace comb is just at the top of the frames and you can just slide your hive tool down between the frame and the end wall and ease the comb away from the wall . draw the frame out and tidy the extra comb off - I keep a plastic box with a lid around when I'm doing inspections for just this purpose.

I also keep an uncapping knife in my bee box just in case they do get a bit too enthusiastic with the brace comb .. cheap as chips from Simon the Beekeeper on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beekeeper...hash=item3ccd8dab1d:m:mP_YPnAfSxcEXekFeq60POw

Thanks for the tips I will get a knife organised ready for the next inspection.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Very often you find that this brace comb is just at the top of the frames and you can just slide your hive tool down between the frame and the end wall and ease the comb away from the wall . draw the frame out and tidy the extra comb off - I keep a plastic box with a lid around when I'm doing inspections for just this purpose.

I also keep an uncapping knife in my bee box just in case they do get a bit too enthusiastic with the brace comb .. cheap as chips from Simon the Beekeeper on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beekeeper...hash=item3ccd8dab1d:m:mP_YPnAfSxcEXekFeq60POw

I use a traditional bread knife (bread saw) from a car boot sale - fifty pence.