First inspection of the year!

[steve56616]

As it is so warm today I inspected my nuc. Other two hives I will check Sunday if weather is what it is forecast to be.
My nuc is full of bees, much fuller than I had expected. Good amount of capped honey and pollen. Queen was fine although no eggs or brood in any stage. Should she be laying yet?
I know I have brood in my other two hives as they had removed a few pupal stage bees. Not sure why but seen that before so not worried.
Just confused as to why no eggs at least

 

[waverider]

Me too!

Temperature this afternoon was 14c so cracked open the hives in the garden. Rarely use the smoker and didn't light it on this occasion. I only have two hives in the garden and a kieler. Calm colonies with ample amounts of stores. Eggs and larvae present. Noticed the cells looking immaculately polished. Maybe no different than normal and just that i have not seen in the hive since september.

I must note that the brood is significantly large in both of the colonies more so in the 14x12 poly, the other is 14x12 cedar. The 14x12 poly was a double brood summer 2013. It was a beast with a queen with similar coloration to a A.Linquistica.

As for the kieler min-nuc (started Aug 2013), that had three levels. Noticed larvae and capped broad. The comb from last year was much darker than expected! Only looked at two frames in the kieler as not to overly disturb.

Its made my day; Wonderful smell of propolis, highway of bee's flying in with pollen and the light humming from the hive.

Maybe Sunday i will go over to the other apiary to look through the remaining 10 hives including my colony from hell…. love it…..

 

[Dishmop]

Temperature here in Norwich topped nearly 22 deg...
Bees all over the place.

 

[jd101k2000]

In Westest Wales it got to 17C at one point. Just spent ages watching both hives. Lots of pollen going in. First winter negotiated (barring nasty surprises).

 

[BILL.HEARD]

I would have recommended that apart from changing floors and checking for stores that more knowledge can be gained by looking at the entrances of most hives rather than going into hives this early. Another two or three weeks time is early enough for most people to start unless you are looking at a crop from OSR.

 

[sharonh]

I would have recommended that apart from changing floors and checking for stores that more knowledge can be gained by looking at the entrances of most hives rather than going into hives this early. Another two or three weeks time is early enough for most people to start unless you are looking at a crop from OSR.

I would have thought the same. Bees busy here,apart from checking fondant and watching activity levels, seeing are they going in with lots of pollen.
I don't plan to do inspections yet.
But everyone to their own, my preference is to leave until April.
Great to see them all out and about busy, lovely sight, would watch them for hours if I had the time

 

[Erichalfbee]

I need to take off nadired shallows next week but won't look in till end of month or so.

 

[steve56616]

Nice that the weather is good and lots of people have been looking inside as well.
Still hoping someone will tell me its normal not to see any eggs, brood etc

 

[dickbowyer]

Sealed brood, larvae and eggs in all four hives inspected in 15 degree sunny w Sussex. Queen only seen in 1 hive as quick inspection moving super back above BB. steve56616, sorry but the queen usually starts laying again in February so no eggs or brood would make me worry that the queen had died overwinter or superseded and new queen not adequately mated

 

[johnandyrob]

7.5 c here and a snow blizzard at about 2.30 this afternoon Im starting to wonder if we are on the same planet never mind the same country

 

[steve56616]

[QUOTE steve56616, sorry but the queen usually starts laying again in February so no eggs or brood would make me worry that the queen had died overwinter or superseded and new queen not adequately mated[/QUOTE]

Queen was there looking great and acting normal. Same queen as last year (red) that was laying well all summer and even after the split in August.

 

[Jimmys Mum]

Nice and warm and sunny here today. Took a look in my very busy 14x12 poly nuc as I was worried about excess stores and restricted laying room for HM. Saw last years red marked queen. Three frames of brood already, one frame of which was emerging. Beautifully behaved calm bees.

Itching to look inside the other hives but I can't find a good enough reason to justify it to myself just yet so just had to content myself with being nosy at the entrances! Not that they even noticed, they were so busy bringing in copious pollen loads

 

[dickbowyer]

Queen was there looking great and acting normal. Same queen as last year (red) that was laying well all summer and even after the split in August.

Fingers crossed she remembers what to do.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Nice that the weather is good and lots of people have been looking inside as well.
Still hoping someone will tell me its normal not to see any eggs, brood etc

Are there empty cells and are they polished....shiny ?

 

[steve56616]

Are there empty cells and are they polished....shiny ?

Yep empty and pollished

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just wait, then
Also.......I'm not saying you missed any but keep an LED torch in your bee bag/box to look for eggs which are harder to see in older comb.

 

[westbourne]

Hi,
I checked my hive today expecting (hoping?) to see eggs and larvae and although I found the queen, I didn't have any eggs.

Not sure if that's normal as I only started last Autumn.

Cheers,

Simon

 

[pargyle]

Hi,
I checked my hive today expecting (hoping?) to see eggs and larvae and although I found the queen, I didn't have any eggs.

Not sure if that's normal as I only started last Autumn.

Cheers,

Simon

Still early days ... no need to panic yet .. give them a week or two.

 

[busybee53]

Inspected on Saturday in 17 degrees and sunny. Now I know it is early in the year and I know there is not supposed to be any nectar about, but the bees don't. Five frames of BIAS in one hive and 6 frames in the other. Both lots building comb and putting nectar in it. They have been up in the fruit blossom. Perhaps that's where the nectar is from.

 

[Flatters]

There seems to be quite a lot of inspections going on.

Is this not a bit too early for doing this? Admittedly I am in the North West of England and things tend to be at least three weeks behind the south, but it still does seem to me a bit early.

Surely the bees are only just getting going again and the queen will be starting to lay, so things will be in a bit of a transition from winter to spring. I think it is a bit early trying to start to manage thing, and would not worrying about queens not laying etc. There is not a great deal we can do to rectify things. The weather can also quickly snap back to a cold spell. Remember last year and the cold spring we had. I think I did my first inspection at the end of April into May.

Personally I will probably wait a while before I inspect.