margob99
House Bee
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2009
- Messages
- 400
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Amersham
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 2
You know that nagging feeling you get when you see clues, something that might indicate early-on that perhaps your hive has gone Q- or is not Q-right in some way? Well ...
I did a full inspection yesterday. In the 3 weeks prior to this, I have only entered the hive to remove 2 frames from the super and replace with new foundation filled frame. Also, 4 days ago, I slipped a varroa board in under the hive.
Note: a small percentage of bees have, over the 10 weeks since I got them as a 6-frame nuc, tended to collect under the OMF, where they seem to pass stuff through the mesh. I've sealed off the base of the hive with partitions to reduce their numbers, then gently swept the remainder off in order to place the varroa board in without killing/trapping too many in there.
Sunday: full inspection of 1 honey super, brood-and-a-half national box. What I saw makes me uneasy, as if things are slipping out of my control a bit; I am seeing clues but cannot interpret or make a correct deduction about what might be going wrong with the hive. Can you help?
Here are my observations:
1. There are bees everywhere. Thousands and thousands of 'em. They are literally boiling up and over and around everywhere. If it wasn't for the observations listed below, I would be concerned they'd run out of space.
2. Laying pattern: very intermittent. Some frames appear honey- and pollen-overloaded with no space to lay. Other frames appear empty, newly-born bees have clearly recently emerged. There are probably only 3 or 4 frames on which the capped worker brood pattern looks good and solid and steady, while the rest of the frames show intermittent patches of capped drone brood, along with some 4-day larvae, but no 1-3 day eggs showing anywhere in the hive.
3. Temper: these have been exceptionally docile bees. This time around they were - well, not grumpy, but certainly loud, pingy and hovering. Can't put it any other way.
I am worried that somehow, in putting the Varroa board in 4 days ago, I have somehow disrupted the Queen's laying pattern.
Or am I worrying too much? Is she starting to slow down on laying, given there are such a high quantity of adult worker bees present?
Or am I just a newbie, a bit intimidated by the sight of a large, fully-present, end-of-summer hive in action!?
PS: never been a sign of making QC, but this time around - 3 empty play cups noted.
I did a full inspection yesterday. In the 3 weeks prior to this, I have only entered the hive to remove 2 frames from the super and replace with new foundation filled frame. Also, 4 days ago, I slipped a varroa board in under the hive.
Note: a small percentage of bees have, over the 10 weeks since I got them as a 6-frame nuc, tended to collect under the OMF, where they seem to pass stuff through the mesh. I've sealed off the base of the hive with partitions to reduce their numbers, then gently swept the remainder off in order to place the varroa board in without killing/trapping too many in there.
Sunday: full inspection of 1 honey super, brood-and-a-half national box. What I saw makes me uneasy, as if things are slipping out of my control a bit; I am seeing clues but cannot interpret or make a correct deduction about what might be going wrong with the hive. Can you help?
Here are my observations:
1. There are bees everywhere. Thousands and thousands of 'em. They are literally boiling up and over and around everywhere. If it wasn't for the observations listed below, I would be concerned they'd run out of space.
2. Laying pattern: very intermittent. Some frames appear honey- and pollen-overloaded with no space to lay. Other frames appear empty, newly-born bees have clearly recently emerged. There are probably only 3 or 4 frames on which the capped worker brood pattern looks good and solid and steady, while the rest of the frames show intermittent patches of capped drone brood, along with some 4-day larvae, but no 1-3 day eggs showing anywhere in the hive.
3. Temper: these have been exceptionally docile bees. This time around they were - well, not grumpy, but certainly loud, pingy and hovering. Can't put it any other way.
I am worried that somehow, in putting the Varroa board in 4 days ago, I have somehow disrupted the Queen's laying pattern.
Or am I worrying too much? Is she starting to slow down on laying, given there are such a high quantity of adult worker bees present?
Or am I just a newbie, a bit intimidated by the sight of a large, fully-present, end-of-summer hive in action!?
PS: never been a sign of making QC, but this time around - 3 empty play cups noted.
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