Efficient Inspections

[TomH]

By efficient, I guess I mean achieving all your aims, of space/QCs/stores/brood with minimum fuss, not trying to race through in 4 minutes a hive!

I've been inspecting my bees either Fri/Sat/Sun, so it gives me a bit of flexibility when other things get in the way. This means i'm going in every 5-9 days (usually ~7 days though). I'm just conscious, particularly if it's only 5 days since I last checked i'm setting them back all the time with the excessive disturbance and i'm probably at risk of causing more problems than i'm solving.

I'm happy enough judging space/adding supers from a quick peek in, and don't need to go through my smaller colonies/splits frame by frame as hopefully the swarming urge isn't there as much. I just struggle a bit on the larger ones, (brood and a half or double brood), i'm still going through frame by frame, checking for QCs, knocking down play cups etc, which feels excessive, when there is nothing going on and it was only 5 days ago I last looked. Are there any tips or tricks i'm missing here? Say I just hinge the two boxes open like a suitcase and there are no QCs on the bottom edges of the frames, can I shut them up again for a week, or will I end up losing a swarm?

 

[Swarm]

Hinge doubles by all means, I don't trust that alone but I do only inspect the top box unless cells are found and then it's time for a thorough search.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

knocking down play cups

why? that's a good few minutes wasted

 

[Boston Bees]

Say I just hinge the two boxes open like a suitcase and there are no QCs on the bottom edges of the frames, can I shut them up again for a week, or will I end up losing a swarm?

You can do this, and I often do.

To improve the effectiveness I use a water sprayer to spray a mist over the bottom of the frames, once I have tipped the box. This makes the bees move away and you can see every detail of the bottom layer of the frames, so you shouldn't miss any cells that are on the bottom edge of the comb. Takes a bit of practice, but I find it works.

Of course, while it's much more efficient and kinder to the bees, you do increase your risk of missing a swarm. Some hives put all their swarm cells in the middle or sides of the frames .....

 

[TomH]

You can do this, and I often do.

To improve the effectiveness I use a water sprayer to spray a mist over the bottom of the frames

Thanks - that's helpful. I don't usually use the smoker unless they're particularly feisty. I have got a spray bottle in my bee bag, will have to use it more.

why? that's a good few minutes wasted

Is there a physical difference between early stages of a QC, and a play cup? I know the presence of play cups doesn't mean anything, but I usually end up cutting them open to check there aren't eggs or jelly inside.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Is there a physical difference between early stages of a QC, and a play cup? I know the presence of play cups doesn't mean anything, but I usually end up cutting them open to check there aren't eggs or jelly inside.

bees make playcups all the time - if they are empty it means nothing and they'll only waste time making more if you tear them down.

 

[ericbeaumont]

knocking down play cups

cutting them open to check

Opening cups enough to check is fair enough, but no need to knock down. Damaged rims that remain damaged at the next check suggest bees aren't planning to make QCs.

hinge the two boxes open like a suitcase and there are no QCs on the bottom edges of the frames, can I shut them up again for a week, or will I end up losing a swarm?

As Steve described, it's only one indicator; I hinge the top of two or the top and middle of three routinely. You will develop an instinct to read a colony and if the hinge shows no cells, and if a quick look at two or three frames shows eggs and bees drawing wax - because you gave them work to do in the nest - then you can relax.

If that frame of foundation is untouched at the next check then swarming is almost certainly on the way. This useful tip was given to me by Peter Heath, a lovely SBI (now retired) who also ran 300 Dadants almost single-handed; years before, Peter had worked for Manley.