Double Brood Inspections

[busybee53]

Some people on this forum have brood and a half, two or even three brood boxes per hive.

My bees have a single brood box at present.

How do those with more carry out inspections? Do you check the first brood box (or half) and then move it aside to check the bottom box? Or do you just check the underside of the top brood box for possible queen cells and not bother to look in the lower box?

Any other tips?

 

[Finman]

.
I use 3 langstroth boxes for brood.

This time of year thee is two reasons to inpect

- do bees have enough room
- does hive has queen cells.

Room issue you see from upper boxes, are they covered with bees and how dense

queen cells you se from upper brood box. if there is nothing, cells are not in lower box eiher.

- third reason is to cut off drone brood for mites. Dronezones are better beein upper brood box.

In lowest box there are allways old angry foragers. It is not nice to meet them.

In 3 box system lower box has pollen and nectar and quite seldom brood.
Pollen must be stored somewhere and third brood box is good.
.

 

[herefordshirehoney]

I researched this a week ago I *think* this was RoofTops who said it but may be wrong copied and pasted from the info I saved and it's what i've been doing on my double brood langstroth box.

Smoke hive.
Remove roof, but instead of placing alongside the hive place it at the rear.
Remove crown board, place along side hive.
Remove all supers and place on the crown board.
Remove QE and place on supers.
Remove top brood box and place on QE.
Place roof on top brood box.
If the queen is in the top box then there is no way she can escape .
Carry out the inspection of the lower brood box.
Queen in top box.
Remove roof and place top brood box onto lower brood box and inspect.
Queen found and marked at hive.
Replace QE and reassemble hive.
Job done.

 

[Travelator]

If I'm doing a through inspection looking for diseases, or it's the height of the swarming season, I inspect both boxes. Move top box off to the side and cover it, go through the bottom box, then replace the top box and go through it. One reason for doing it this way is that if you go through the top box first and shake the bees down off the frames, the bottom box will be full to bursting by the time you get to it, and most of the bees would end up getting shaken twice.

If I'm doing a quicker inspection to establish that a colony is queen right and has some stores, I ignore the bottom box and check the top box only.

I've never had the nerve to "just crack open the boxes and check for queen cells on the bottom bars of the top box". I don't believe that would work reliably - I've seen plenty of swarm cells hidden in other places before.

 

[Finman]

I researched this a week ago I *think* this was RoofTops who said it but may be wrong copied and pasted from the info I saved and it's what i've been doing on my double brood langstroth box.

Smoke hive.
Remove roof, but instead of placing alongside the hive place it at the rear.
Remove crown board, place along side hive.
Remove all supers and place on the crown board.
Remove QE and place on supers.
Remove top brood box and place on QE.
Place roof on top brood box.
If the queen is in the top box then there is no way she can escape .
Carry out the inspection of the lower brood box.
Queen in top box.
Remove roof and place top brood box onto lower brood box and inspect.
Queen found and marked at hive.
Replace QE and reassemble hive.
Job done.

idiot!

Why you want to inpect the queen?

When you see young larvae, it is there.

Job done? What job?

.

 

[Travelator]

idiot!

Why you want to inpect the queen?

When you see young larvae, it is there.

Job done? What job?

.

Agreed.

I'm guessing that those instructions were specifically for finding and marking the queen in a double brood colony, otherwise they don't make sense.

 

[Winker]

idiot!

Why you want to inpect the queen?

When you see young larvae, it is there.

Job done? What job?

.

You know it doesn't cost anything to be civil to people

 

[Finman]

If I'm doing a through inspection looking for diseases

and shake the bees down off the frames, the bottom box will be full to bursting by the time you get to it, and most of the bees would end up getting shaken twice.

If I'm doing a quicker inspection to establish that a colony is queen right

very strange inpections. What it has to do with douple brood?

Most of these inpections happen with once glance.
If brood seems normal it is normal. It take 0,1 seconds.
Queen right? It takes 0,2 seconds.

These all can be done with main inspections. There are different reasons to check hives along summer

- take your boots
- put legs into boots
- go out
- open the door
- shut the door

who needs these commands?

.

 

[herefordshirehoney]

idiot!

Why you want to inpect the queen?

When you see young larvae, it is there.

Job done? What job?

.

That was a copy and paste from an old post be it I may not have read it in context or even the first paragraph , does serve a purpose though as shows how you can do an inspection of double brood if you want to find the queen be it I did not make that clear. Busybee does not specify that so its an option should he/she want to do that.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=3577&postcount=31

 

[VEG]

- take your boots
- put legs into boots
- go out
- open the door
- shut the door

who needs these commands?

.

Always better to open the door first before going out unless drunk then you have an excuse

 

[flemage]

I take off roof place on floor upside down to one side,

Crown board off quick look to make sure quuens not on under side (never has been so far) rest against hive (upright)

Take off supers and place on to upturned roof,

I don’t have excluders on as I am trying without them from comments on here, but here is where you would remove it if you do.

Top brood box off, place on top of supers,

Then crown board on top of the brood box, I have just placed on supers.

Inspect bottom brood.

Replace top brood box onto bottom brood, remove crown board and place on supers, inspect top brood box.

Have a quick look at what is happening in supers and put it back together.

Job done.

I do this if I have a need to inspect fully like now (swarm time). If I am not too worried I just crack the two brood boxes and take a shifty look at bottom frames. Perhaps take a frame out of the middle of the top box to see eggs are there.

I do not have the experience to complete a few seconds inspection like others and I know it, so come the swarm time I do full inspections.

Hope this helps ….its actually easier than it sounds when you do it

 

[Finman]

.

It totally depends what are you inpecting.

 

[Swarm]

Depends what you are looking for, today I checked the bottom brood because it was recently added and I wanted to see what was happening. No supers involved, so roof off, crack the broods, quick puff and top box off.
Quick look at bottom frames.
At this point I put the CB onto the bottom box and inspected the top one where it was. Normally I'd have a quick look in the top if checking brood, Q+, room, etc. I don't think I'd put them back together if looking to mark the queen, for obvious reasons.
I don't rely on tilting alone when looking for cells.
Generally the action is in the top box and like Finman says, the bottom box makes a less contented sound

 

[Bob Bee]

idiot!

Why you want to inpect the queen?

When you see young larvae, it is there.

Job done? What job?

.

Does this forum have rules, does this forum have administration, should members be allowed to respond this way ? so many questions, so few answers.

 

[enrico]

Does this forum have rules, does this forum have administration, should members be allowed to respond this way ? so many questions, so few answers.

Finman does come across as rude, pity because I understand where he is coming from on some of his posts, I put it down to language barrier but I often wonder if he is just rude!
That aside I only ever inspect top box. If I ave brood and a half I always have half on bottom, that way if I reduce to brood box only in winter I can just take the half and put it on a QE knowing that most brood etc is in BB
I use double brood box's on prolific hives that I want to split to increase my stock, or to give me a good strong colony for max honey collection.
I always try to reduce o one bb for winter.
E

 

[Finman]

Does this forum have rules, does this forum have administration, should members be allowed to respond this way ? so many questions, so few answers.

mom! Finman is teasing me äääääää.

You should think more often what level you discuss on forum.
Just killing time.

Inpecting douple brood

- take roof off
- put it back.

Just clever.

Mom. It is teasing again! Ääääää

.

 

[Finman]

I put it down to language barrier but I often wonder if he is just rude!

E

at least I try to be rude. Often so naive discussion that I cannot stand those national social games.

 

[VEG]

If you cant answer in a civil manner dont reply

 

[Tom Bick]

Some people on this forum have brood and a half, two or even three brood boxes per hive.

My bees have a single brood box at present.

How do those with more carry out inspections? Do you check the first brood box (or half) and then move it aside to check the bottom box? Or do you just check the underside of the top brood box for possible queen cells and not bother to look in the lower box?

Any other tips?

I only inspect the bottom box if I think something is wrong and sometimes if my bees are in good spirits as the grumpy bees can hang out in the bottom box. I am trying to train myself to do the split the two boxes quick look then close inspection over, but its hard as I enjoy the inspections, perhaps more hive me thinks!!!!!

 

[enrico]

at least I try to be rude. Often so naive discussion that I cannot stand those national social games.

Pity you said that finman, you have gone own in my estimation. There is never any reason to be rude. Maybe you think we are less intelligent than you but it is not your place to suggest it in public. If you want to be rude to people then do it by private message and not on a public forum.
E