first inspection

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mark s

Field Bee
Joined
Jun 9, 2009
Messages
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Location
Isle Of Wight
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
16 + 3nuc's
morning all

tomorrow i will have had my nuc hived for a week so its time for my very first inspection ever,so could members advise me on exactly wot i should be on the lookout for plz,wanna get this right as its my first time
:cheers2:
 
morning all

tomorrow i will have had my nuc hived for a week so its time for my very first inspection ever,so could members advise me on exactly wot i should be on the lookout for plz,wanna get this right as its my first time
:cheers2:

Just a quickie, start with the basics and build in more each time you do an inspection, I found that when I started I had a long checklist and things got confusing.

Knowing what I do now I wish I had just checked for basics first :-

- eggs (if you can see them but if not don’t worry)
- open brood at difference stages (indicates queen was here in last 4 days)
- capped brood and shape to show good laying history
- pollen in some cells and capped or uncapped food store
- queen spotting if your lucky
- check the bees are not lethargic, if they are they maybe low on food

Jez

PS as above, check you have bees lol

PPS dont quish the queen :)
 
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My first check consisted of a 15 minute game called 'Spot the Queen'
I eventually found her, thanks to her being marked.
Also managed to see some open brood
115.gif
 
note to self add to list :check for bees;);)

anything else persons ????
 
Open it, if you must, observe brood area and bee coverage from above, check for eggs, close up.

They do not need weekly disturbances at this time of the year in my opinion. What they do need is food and peace to get on with increasing brood and stores ready for the winter. If you knew what they were like a week ago, things will not have changed greatly.

Afterwards, analyse what you actually saw, how the bees reacted, your confidence level, how gentle (or otherwise) your manipulations were and go forward from there (more foundation next time? for eg) .

Consider what you did not see and if it was really important and should you look for that next time.

If she is laying, watch the pollen rate going in, watch for the numbers of orienting bees around mid-afternoon, note the amount of activity increasing if the weather is average - all outside the hive observations. Take note of the weather (if stores is going to be a issue in the near future), but if it is sunny and they are foraging, let them get on with it.

There is no point looking for the queen at every inspection unless you need to find her.

Decisions as to how often to inspect should be made, to extend the periods between to as long as possible - you need to look after them, not continually hassle them.

I know, I know, you want the practise, you want to bond with your bees, etc, etc.

I assume your profile means you have 2 hives but only one colony? Too much interference slows them down, could damage the queen - and only one hive, so no chance to sort it easily. So take it easy, don't overly worry unless you spot something untoward, unusual. Open too long could cause chilling of the very young brood.

Just do the minimum right and be pleased at that.

Regards, RAB
 
thanx rab
i was wondering why about 3 every afternoon there a lot of bees outside the hive,this maybe orienting bees then ??
 
thanx rab
i was wondering why about 3 every afternoon there a lot of bees outside the hive,this maybe orienting bees then ??

Same here.
It was like Battle of Britain half hour ago.
Thought they were packing their bags. bee-smillie
 
i hear you there steve,i thought it was wasps at first but there was none about.
just gone out and had a look and there at it now lol
 
were those the one's with goggles and a white silk scarf on.......;)
 
Oh so now I know what's happening. :) I must admit I've seen some with white 'scarves' on but not the goggles yet. :(

bee-smillie
 
I thought I was following this thread? Scarves and goggles, flight training, presumably then they get their wings (so that's a spare set for later). DrNick now drops the bombshell that bees are dive bombers (proud of that pun!)
 
hi all
just made my first inspection all went well bees were very well behaved.
there was brood at all stages visible,plenty of polen and stores.:):).
when mark and i hived them there was a queen cup on 1 of the frames partially built this is now complete and is sealed,my question is wot do i do about it,i spotted my queen so she is still in and workin,do i remove asap or wot ???
thanx

ps hopefully ive used the right lingo so you can understand wot im on about
 
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Destroy the Cell

Mark, In the abscence of a more learned forum member replying I'll give you my view. You have a new nuc and it's a few weeks old, you have a 'this year' queen present and laying - correct? You have identified stores and brood at various stages including un-capped larvae and eggs - she has been laying very recently. I would destroy the queen cell. if you have doubts about your queen then I would still over winter with her and consider spring replacement. If a 'home reared' queen comes on the scene now you will either get a swarm (still possible) or a superseededqueen but with a much reduced confidence that she will be mated (she'll be emerging late august).

How much space has the colony got? I am assuming your nuc is in it's brrod box? Irrespective of the prospect of honey do you need to put a super on to give them space? I would. With regard the cell, if you destroy it and the ladies are detrmined you'll get another anyway! Hope that helps. R
 
hi rosti
yes ive identified capped and uncapped larvae and eggs so im happy that the queen is doin her stuff as for room they are in a bb and have got to within 2 frames of the sides with no drawn comb on,is that close enough to add a super with qx just incase
t6hanx
 
NOO! not supercedure in an 09 queen!
I know someone who would love to comment on that....

Mark do you have any eggs ?
If you do then knock the queen cell off and have a look inside and report back.
 
Thinking about it,I gave you an extra frame of capped brood because of the weather and time of year and you have given them a heavy feed,it could be a swarm cell.

Chop it off and stop feeding them.
 
hi mark
yes have eggs
can i go back in too the hive today or should i leave it for a day?
 

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