Opening A Brood Box First

[Millet]

I read through the forum, and lately what i see is everyone mainly new folk to the hobby are in a race to see who can be the first to pull the brood box to bits for no reason for a first inspection, WHY and what is the point nothing can be fixed yet if you have already broke it through poking about too early.
Just imagine the work the bees have to do with little resources at this time of the year trying to fix what you have broken and pulled to bits.

I have a bit longer to wait yet, before i give them a whole load of work to do, but when i do my first inspection the weather will be consistently warm with a chance of fixing things that i have not caused.

 

[Eyeman]

WHY and what is the point nothing can be fixed yet

Not strictly true
I monitor the debris on the varroa insert.
Will be inspecting later this month those with < 4 seams drop and if colony is small will dummy down to give them better control of the environment.
If the colony has dwindled to 1 or 2 frames I will take the queen out and put her in an Apidea.
Will also inspect those with > 8 seams of debris with drawn comb at the ready to give then queen some more room.

 

[Millet]

Not strictly true
I monitor the debris on the varroa insert.
Will be inspecting later this month those with < 4 seams drop and if colony is small will dummy down to give them better control of the environment.
If the colony has dwindled to 1 or 2 frames I will take the queen out and put her in an Apidea.
Will also inspect those with > 8 seams of debris with drawn comb at the ready to give then queen some more room.

Beginners not experts/professors as yet..

 

[Anduril]

I have hives that build up quickly this time of year and have to go double 14x12 brood box for a short time. These are mainly in Polys and a quick manipulation of heavy brood box on light brood box. This is my way of making increase. Although this year I may go double standard brood with them. Any warm day above 15°C is OK this time of year. Nothing like beginner enthusiasm, it will either wear off or become an addiction.

 

[Brigsy]

What are the rules then for a quick check of stores along the top frames and glancing if there's any brood? Weather is above 15 forecast for this week by me?

 

[Anduril]

What are the rules then for a quick check of stores along the top frames and glancing if there's any brood? Weather is above 15 forecast for this week by me?

If it is above 15°C then I see no problem, it is all to do with chilling the brood.
Then again the LASI video shows a hive being opened in winter and every frame being removed and brood destroyed to vaporise OA. If novice beekeepers see it they may think they can do weekly inspections all year round.

 

[Brigsy]

Indeed. I saw that video and information.

 

[Beefriendly]

I read through the forum, and lately what i see is everyone mainly new folk to the hobby are in a race to see who can be the first to pull the brood box to bits

When I kept aggressive mongrel bees I delayed that first inspection for as long as I possibly could too. So I fully understand your reluctance.

 

[wightbees]

Trouble is the Temps range so different in this country, it can be confusing to those that don't check where each poster lives!

 

[Millet]

When I kept aggressive mongrel bees I delayed that first inspection for as long as I possibly could too. So I fully understand your reluctance.

I personally do not care too much about the aggressive bees it is my surrounding friends that i'm bothered about and also the dogs.
The reason i do not want to open up too early or see any point in doing it is the amount of work i gave the bees to do last year after pulling all there hard work to bits just to satisfy my curiosity, however i did not open up till the weather was acceptable which it was on the 17th April last year.

 

[george]

It's taking a set temperature as the trigger that is possibly misleading . 15deg on a nice still day is not the same as 15 plus a northerly breeze. I prefer the ' can you stand outside wearing a tee shirt in comfort ' as my gauge .

If you want to check stores then scales or the good old fashioned hefting works (with practice) .
Checking for brood ? Fine , but if you don't have another queen to replace a failed one if you find it broodless , what's the point .
The most skilled of folk on here can accidentally damage or kill a queen early season and with no drones yet all you end up with is a failed colony.

Plenty of time yet before you need to go flying in .

 

[Brigsy]

How do people move stores next to the brood during winter?

 

[Erichalfbee]

How do people move stores next to the brood during winter?

The top has to come off

Personally i like to get in early to see just quickly how well they are brooding. Last year I didn't look in till mid April. It was obvious the queens had started laying then stopped. We had a quick snatch of good weather when they brought in willow pollen then the rainclouds rolled in till the tail end of the dandelions and Hawthorne when finally we did have a bit of fine weather. If I had been on the ball I could have got a little pollen sub on, the queens would have kept laying and they might have been ready to give me a little spring honey.

 

[Brigsy]

Lots of good information in this thread. Ta.

 

[bjosephd]

Well locally (Somerset) a local was putting a super on yesterday as his (single brood national) was 'bursting with bees'. Seems a bit keen? I have a single Lang box pretty full with bees over all 10 frames who are starting to build comb on top of the bars (albeit they have fondant). Yet I still think it would be somewhat bonkers to add another box of any size. (Particularly as I would want to add it below anyway)...

A view through the polycarb in Jan, then Feb...

January...

February...

 

[Eyeman]

I have a single Lang box pretty full with bees over all 10 frames who are starting to build comb on top of the bars

When they start building wild comb on top of the bars I know that I should have given then more space 1-2 weeks ago.
Is it a poly Lang?
I don't see any new white wax in my colonies until April.
Put some drawn comb above the brood nest and dummy down the box to 5 frames?
Remove some capped honey stores from the congested brood box, extract them and put them back in?
If you have more that one hive then even out the brood nests by moving frames between hives. This is usually what I do at the first inspection and it sorts out those conies that are congested and boosts those lagging behind.

 

[bjosephd]

It's a wooden Lang with a big fat celotex cosy (100mm top/50mm sides).

I'm reluctant to go digging through any boxes at the moment, and don't have any drawn frames.

Double brood is the intention, so ideally I'd wack an empty brood box beneath them - but without touching or lifting anything!

An empty box on top seems a bit nuts with daytime 10oC.

I am forever paranoid of damaging a queen when I inspect/manipulate!

I'll keep an eye on their wild comb building for now I guess...

 

[Beefriendly]

The top has to come off

Personally i like to get in early to see just quickly how well they are brooding. Last year I didn't look in till mid April. It was obvious the queens had started laying then stopped.

Same here
I already know some of my queens are running out of space to lay and need stores removing and empty drawn brood frames adding. I've re-queened one queenless colony (the advantage of banking a queen or two). If I had left that first inspection until the "regulation" April and shirt sleeve weather I would have potential early swarming issues and laying workers to content with.
Warm flying weather is what I look out for and I'll take it anytime it arrives from mid Feb onwards.