layens.

juanito · May 3, 2014

greetings,
i have just been inspecting my hives and the smaller colony looks to doing everything by the book, but the frames on the bigger colony are smothered with bees so much so i was unable to see much, is it advisable to shake the bees from the frames or use a brush,the other alterative is to let them get on with it,
sitting watching the bees and they are loaded with yellow pollen from the wild broom, better than the telly anyday,
adios.

enrico · May 3, 2014

Don't use a brush unless you want a fight, gently blow on the areas you want to look at the bees will move away, for a better inspection put the frame in the gap it came from and make a sharp downward gesture without hitting other frames or the sides and this will shake off the bees!
E

REDWOOD · May 3, 2014

Inspect for a reason, to look for QC's then probably the best way is a little shake to remove some bees hiding them in the corners, and foulbrood you will need to shake most of them off, you can use your fingers to move bees or a gentle blow will do the same thing.

If your colony is that big that when you take the inner cover off the bees are pouring out then you will need to add a super/honey box or double brood depending how many brood frames you have

psafloyd · May 3, 2014

enrico said:
Don't use a brush unless you want a fight, gently blow on the areas you want to look at the bees will move away, for a better inspection put the frame in the gap it came from and make a sharp downward gesture without hitting other frames or the sides and this will shake off the bees!
E

Blowing on the frames is best done with a peppermint and definitely NOT after eating onions.

Midland Beek · May 4, 2014

Hold the frame with one hand a drift a bit of smoke over it. That is what smoke is for.

Heather · May 4, 2014

May I suggest never brush, they get so stuck in it.
Never shake if you suspect queen cells that you nee. You may detach the larvae from the food. That is the time to gently move a hand over and they will disperse.
No queen cells?, and you want to look furtherinto the frame appearance?.. put the frame back into a decent space within the hive and a sharp downward shake will shift the maximum of bees. Note it will be 'house bees' that remain on the frame.