pictures of my inspection yesterday

[nickysolar]

Please comment - I wasn't sure if I was seeing Queen cells when checking yesterday and now that Im reviewing these pics I think there are....
Nuc installed 4 weeks ago. Built up steadily by adding frames gradually, I added the final 10th & 11th frame yesterday.

 

[Honeybeeco]

Looks like burr comb in first picture ( working left to right ) and play cup in the other picture - assuming it's the same play cup in both pictures.

They can make lots of these play cups on frames, but what you need to do is when you go in there next, have a look if there is a grub and white Royal jelly in the bottom of it - then you have the starting of a possible queen cell.

The play cup is in the right position on the frame ( at the bottom) to usually be a swarm cell should they decide to make a queen cell or three.

Do you have a mentor you can get to check the hive for you to be sure you've not missed anything?

 

[pargyle]

Yoou need to shake the bees off the frame to be sure . standard beekeeping practice - hold the frame above the top bars and jerk it downwards, the sudden stop will send most of the bees hurtling off the frame into the top of the hive - might need a couple of shakes to clear them enough for a good look. You can then see what's going off.

The photos are not really clear enough to see whether it's just lumps of comb or a queen cell .. or two.. Bees do build random bits of comb ar times - if there's nothing in it then I tend to scrape it off with my hive tool into a plastic box I keep for the purpose - just tidies things up a bit.

 

[enrico]

The first thing to do is to learn for yourself, the best way is experience. If you open one of these cells or break it down it will not be the end of the world. Any charged queen cell will have white stuff in the bottom which other cells don't, not to be confused with a squashed drone in a capped cell!
Play with them, cut a few cells out and look at them in your house to see what an egg looks like and a small larvae. It is all learning and won't do any harm at this stage! Good luck
E

 

[masterBK]

Before shaking bees off a comb you need to remove a couple of frames to create a space. When you shake bees off a comb most of the comb should be within the brood chamber ie the top bar should only be raised a few inches above the top of the brood chamber so that all of the bees end up falling into the cavity created by the two frames removed. If you shake bees off a comb with the frame completely out of the brood chamber the bees end up bouncing off the top bars and flying everywhere. Also good practise to always check the queen not on comb before shaking. Practise so that the bees are removed with a single shake as this saves time. Don't shake bees off a comb if you think you might want to retain a specific queen cell on that comb.

 

[Swarm]

Pic 2 and 3 just look like sealed drone cells.

 

[REDWOOD]

Before shaking bees you need to establish that the queen is still there, no good shaking a frame with a sealed queen cell as you can damage the queen inside and what will that leave you. bees can be moved by a gentle blow or with your hand.

 

[pargyle]

Before shaking bees off a comb you need to remove a couple of frames to create a space. When you shake bees off a comb most of the comb should be within the brood chamber ie the top bar should only be raised a few inches above the top of the brood chamber so that all of the bees end up falling into the cavity created by the two frames removed. If you shake bees off a comb with the frame completely out of the brood chamber the bees end up bouncing off the top bars and flying everywhere. Also good practise to always check the queen not on comb before shaking. Practise so that the bees are removed with a single shake as this saves time. Don't shake bees off a comb if you think you might want to retain a specific queen cell on that comb.

Before shaking bees you need to establish that the queen is still there, no good shaking a frame with a sealed queen cell as you can damage the queen inside and what will that leave you. bees can be moved by a gentle blow or with your hand.

Both quite right of course, I made the mistake of assuming that the OP would have some basic beekeeping skills .. I either have a dummy frame in my hive to take out before I start inspection to make room or the first frame at the back of the box comes out ... with the frame being inspected that leaves enough room to shake them down into the space ... although, at a pinch, I have shaken a frame onto the top bars.

If the OP can't spot a QC I have some concerns about them finding the queen .. but ... determining whether they are queen cells would always be a priority in my book and brushing a few bees away from the frame bottom would be a good way of clearing them if you were not sure about whether the queen was there ...

There's been some good advice on this thread ...learning the basics is something you usually get from a good mentor .. not always found in books and on the internet.

 

[Chrisfnvs]

Pic 2 and 3 just look like sealed drone cells.

That is what they look like to me also capped Drones

 

[Poly Hive]

Colonies make "play cups" essentially to confuse the tyros. Ok in reality they are getting prepared but please take this on board.

Empty play cups mean nothing. ZERO!

Play cups with an egg in them mean nothing but be wary!

Queen cells with grub and royal jelly, (note the change in language from play cup) means business and you have to treat the colony as in swarm mode.

It would be a little unusual for a newly hived nuc to be showing swarm tendencies but never say never, though when first seen uncapped drone cells do look worrying.

PH

 

[beeno]

Please comment - I wasn't sure if I was seeing Queen cells when checking yesterday and now that Im reviewing these pics I think there are....
Nuc installed 4 weeks ago. Built up steadily by adding frames gradually, I added the final 10th & 11th frame yesterday.

Hi nicky,
Looks a nice healthy colony. Make sure they have enough room in the weeks to come as the weather is improving and some people in the country will have bees on a flow. Enjoy.

 

[misterbee82]

Before shaking bees you need to establish that the queen is still there, no good shaking a frame with a sealed queen cell as you can damage the queen inside and what will that leave you. bees can be moved by a gentle blow or with your hand.

I completely agree with Redwood, check for an established queen first. If you don't have one, let nature runs it course and them establish queen cells and a virgin queen. Otherwise it could lead to disastrous results for your hive. You can never take too many precautions.

 

[Alabamaeee]

And before you shake the bees off any frame have a careful look on both sides, if there is a Queen on the frame you don't want to damage her

 

[nickysolar]

Extra supers/frames at the ready! Thanks for this.

 

[nickysolar]

Queen

I completely agree with Redwood, check for an established queen first. If you don't have one, let nature runs it course and them establish queen cells and a virgin queen. Otherwise it could lead to disastrous results for your hive. You can never take too many precautions.

Queen (Cleopatra) is present.

 

[nickysolar]

Both quite right of course, I made the mistake of assuming that the OP would have some basic beekeeping skills .. I either have a dummy frame in my hive to take out before I start inspection to make room or the first frame at the back of the box comes out ... with the frame being inspected that leaves enough room to shake them down into the space ... although, at a pinch, I have shaken a frame onto the top bars.

If the OP can't spot a QC I have some concerns about them finding the queen .. but ... determining whether they are queen cells would always be a priority in my book and brushing a few bees away from the frame bottom would be a good way of clearing them if you were not sure about whether the queen was there ...

There's been some good advice on this thread ...learning the basics is something you usually get from a good mentor .. not always found in books and on the internet.

What does OP stand for?

 

[Erichalfbee]

OP
Original Poster

 

[nickysolar]

Aha! thanks for this! My mentor came up to take a look today and says all is very good - definitely no QC. This 5 frame Nuc arrived 4 weeks ago and have filled 11 frames with lots of stores - apparently ½ a supers worth. Mentor suggested i place two supers on top with crown board in between and they will move some up. They seem to have moved at a terrific pace or is this normal? (not that I'm complaining)