colony inspection?

[jallen]

is it to ealy in the year to open up the hive and check brood?

 

[drstitson]

it's going to snow tomorrow.

 

[hedgerow pete]

not for another month

 

[jallen]

okie dokie thanks

 

[kazmcc]

If they are taking in pollen, can you assume there's brood? Our bees are looking like they are doing orientation flights, so that's a good sign isn't it. They look all new and fluffy lol

 

[MrB]

They look all new and fluffy lol

HaHa wearing their winter coats!

 

[drstitson]

i was under the impression that bees lost their fluff through wear and tear out in the nasty world of foraging and hence the association with "age"

any new foragers now (ie winter bees) are actually biologically young as they have spent the last few months in effectively "nurse" state and much of that "asleep".

give it a few weeks and you should see foragers with "wear and tear" at the time when new 2011 foragers start emerging.

Physiological age and temporal age are different things for bees. For example, the time that nurse bees spend in that role depends upon how hard they have to work as they only have finite stores within fat bodies that they use when making brood food. Once exhausted they'll head off to become simple carbohydrate fuelled foragers.

 

[Vergilius]

If they are taking in pollen, can you assume there's brood? Our bees are looking like they are doing orientation flights, so that's a good sign isn't it. They look all new and fluffy lol

Yes this is generally a very good sign... Make sure you feed em with fondant if needs be though...

Ben P

 

[Mike101]

Pollen going in is a good sign but not an absolute gaurantee that all is well. Drone laying colonies take in pollen as well!

 

[Vergilius]

Pollen going in is a good sign but not an absolute gaurantee that all is well. Drone laying colonies take in pollen as well!

That's why I said "generally"...

Ben P

 

[kazmcc]

Pollen going in is a good sign but not an absolute gaurantee that all is well. Drone laying colonies take in pollen as well!

Ah...didn't think of that lol I'm just all excitable that they are still there! lol. They have a big slab of fondant on top of the frames in the super ( brood and half ) but they still have lots of stores left from the quick scan into the super we did.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi Kaz, did you get that inspection tray in?

 

[TOBY-3652]

Ive been told 2 not peek untill end of march or early april so thats what ile do im a bit like a few others. I want to look, but aint going to

 

[Vergilius]

Hi Kaz, did you get that inspection tray in?

Eric,

I'm on solid floor so this doesn't apply for me but surely installing the tray over the OMF looses one of the main bonuses of OMF- the over-winter ventilation???

Or is your argument that the bees consume more stores with the OMF open... Do you have top insulation in???

Ben P

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ben,
I wasn't suggesting Kaz close the floor. She wanted to check the mite drop and I was asking if she had organised her inspection tray.


(I have open floors and 5cm of kingspan on top)

 

[Vergilius]

Ben,
I wasn't suggesting Kaz close the floor. She wanted to check the mite drop and I was asking if she had organised her inspection tray.


(I have open floors and 5cm of kingspan on top)

Oh right!!!

Ben P

 

[Poly Hive]

Open floors and top insulation are a pair, not an option.

PH