What can you deduce from the inspection tray?

[BeeJuice]

What can you deduce from the inspection tray?

... apart from the number of varroa?

I had my inspection trays in all four hives to assess the number of varroa - there were few, just one or two thankfully.

Does anyone pay any attention to the amount and pattern of the fine wax that falls through to the tray? Would it be safe to assume that the amount and pattern relates to the uncapping and consumption of stores?

Is there any reason why the inspection tray is not left in the hive all through winter? It can give quite a lot of information on what is happening inside the hive. Of does the tray stop the flow of air too much and allow the varroa to crawl back in?

 

[B+.]

does the tray stop the flow of air too much and allow the varroa to crawl back in?

That would depend on what the "inspection tray" consisted of (or was coated with). The inspection tray is intended to allow you to monitor the natural mite drop at the start of spring (spring is the most useful time but it can be used at other times too). The tray is sometimes coated with something sticky (e.g. sticky-backed plastic) to prevent the mite from simply getting up and hitching a lift back into the brood area on the first worker to pass by. It also prevents other creatures (e.g. ants) from removing the evidence so you can get a reliable figure for the level of infestation at the start of the season. Why is it done then? Because, at the start of the season, the queen won't have laid many (if any) eggs and there will be no sealed brood. Consequently the mites will all be phoretic (travelling on the body of the worker bee). Later in the season, the varroa mites begin the reproductive stage of their life cycle and the natural mite drop becomes increasingly less reliable as lots of mites will be in sealed cells.
The open mesh floor which the inspection tray usually sits below allows mites to fall to the ground where they can't easily climb back in. Drafts shouldn't be a problem but this depends on the site.

 

[BeeJuice]

Thanks B+. That's an interesting insight which I hadn't thought through.

Do you pay any attention to the wax that falls through (my 'inspection tray' is a slide in piece of non sticky white plastic)

Is the amount of wax and the pattern it falls in (rows in my case that correspond to the frames) a reliable indicator of how much stores is being consumed?

 

[B+.]

Is the amount of wax and the pattern it falls in (rows in my case that correspond to the frames) a reliable indicator of how much stores is being consumed?

It rather depends on how much debris there is.
Clearly, the fine powder-like lines you may see at the moment are nicely lined up with the frames and do give an indication of where the bees are. However, as it warms up, they won't be in such a tight cluster so the pattern will spread out more. It won't be nice straight lines either. There will be areas of heavy deposit and areas of light, depending on where they still need to remove cappings.
If you look at the inspection board carefully in the spring (using a microscope) you will see lots of other creatures that you wouldn't know existed if you didn't use a microscope. These creatures feed on the debris and may carry some of the evidence away.This is why sticky back plastic is so useful.
The debris on the hive floor increases substantially in early spring (March) as the colony begins to consume stores and expand.This is the dangerous time for a colony with little food reserves. It can easily starve. This is why I prefer to use a larger brood box (Langstroth - doubles on the more established colonies) so they have space to ripen and store food the previous summer/autumn. I am not one of these people who believes in running around feeding fondant trying to keep a colony alive. If it gets to this point, I've already failed because I want my colonies to build up unchecked naturally in the spring.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I use under-floor entrances so the monitoring tray is some 80mm below the open mesh floor. My view is that it is extremely unlikely that any live mite will climb back up to through the mesh into the hive from there.

I tend to leave the monitoring board on most of the time for the following reasons:

1. To get a very rough idea of the numbers of mites in the colony using NBU web site.
2. To see by means of light-coloured cappings whether stores are being opened up and consumed.
3. To see by means of dark coloured cappings the extent of any emerging brood.
4. To monitor for pests in the hive, for example slugs, mice, wood lice, etc. by looking for their droppings.

I think there was a book written that gave information for beeks to interpret what they saw on the monitoring board but I cannot recall the name of the book or author.

The other thing I do to help keep the bees' heat in the hive over winter is I install a "skirt" around the hive stand, made from a double thickness of scaffold netting, so that there are reduced wind eddies under the hive, cooling the colony from below. It also reduces the likelihood of anything on the monitoring board being blown around by the wind.

Hope this is of interest.

CVB

 

[Goodwood]

Just a little "heads up"
I too found a few varroa on my boards a few weeks ago. Just a handful after a week in situ.
As it was nice and cold at the time i decided to sublimate.
I checked them two weeks later and the boards were absolutely plastered.
Too many varroa to count...i have never seen such a drop.
I post this as I read on one thread someone being given advice not to bother if they only saw a few.
I know there are a number of beekeepers who do not believe in intervention, but seeing how one gassing hit such a massive hidden varroa load, i think people need to be aware.
The weather has turned milder since so I am now in two minds as to giev them another blast.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Another reason for a varroa slide is to quickly view whatever varroa treatment you are using is actually working.

 

[Eyeman]

I usually take a photo of mine.
Trying to learn whether its those that a dropping the dark cappings that continue to show a large drop after the 4th vape!

 

[pargyle]

I leave my boards in all the year round and look at the rows of debris on a very regular basis - mine, too are about 75mm below the mesh floor and if you are leaving them in then there really needs to be at least this drop to stop any chance of mites getting back up (not that I think there is a lot of chance of that !).

I have always found it reassuring to be able to see the debris lines move across the floor and as has been said above there is always something to see and a microscope will take you to another world of fascination.

 

[drex]

View attachment 13914
I usually take a photo of mine.
Trying to learn whether its those that a dropping the dark cappings that continue to show a large drop after the 4th vape!

Having a job enlarging your pic, but it looks like you have some animal droppings on there too

 

[Hivemaker.]

Having a job enlarging your pic, but it looks like you have some animal droppings on there too

Looks like earwig droppings.

 

[Millet]

Looks like earwig droppings.

Yip and it also looks like brood capping dropped on the tray.

 

[Eyeman]

Definitely earwigs
Here is another insert with what looks like a lot of brood capping in the centre and stores to the sides. Fair few varroa drop as well.

 

[masterBK]

In 1st photo droppings could also be from Greater wax moth larvae (which look very similar to earwig droppings). I notice on 2nd photo white crystals of sugar ( bees sometimes suck up the fructose syrup around the glucose crystals in the cell and dump the crystals) possibly from Ivy or OSR which have fallen through the OMF

 

[Gilberdyke John]

In 1st photo droppings could also be from Greater wax moth larvae (which look very similar to earwig droppings). I notice on 2nd photo white crystals of sugar ( bees sometimes suck up the fructose syrup around the glucose crystals in the cell and dump the crystals) possibly from Ivy or OSR which have fallen through the OMF

Has anyone studied the glucose in detail? When we were operating the Howden Glucose Refinery we produced various Dextrose Equivalent syrups. 42 DE remained as a syrup at all concentrations from a water consistency to virtual solid (think a Foxes glacier mint consistency). Only high DE glucose showed crystallisation. 90+DE which was produced by enzyme action on the 42DE product would crystallise on cooling. I can't remember the temperature at which we pumped into road tankers but probably around 50deg C.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Thanks to previous replies I now know that I had brood emerging right up until Christmas . . . at least. This is a photo from Boxing Day.

Apart from the mouldy pollen just inside the entrance at right, there is a line of condensation above the brood area. I have fondant on top of the crownboard and Christmas Day they were flying so I'm guessing there was some honey being ripened?

. . . . Ben

 

[Eyeman]

I notice on 2nd photo white crystals of sugar (

Those white crystals are from the under OMF sublimation of OA. The OA condenses on the OMF under the heated plate and drops onto the inspection tray. It may result in under dosing the colony when OAV under the OMF.

 

[Eyeman]

Parsonage bees
Looks like you have got a fair few mites on that tray. Details are not great but looks like 100+?

 

[Parsonage Bees]

That's at least 4 weeks worth of mites. No treatment done, I've seen a daily drop of over 10-12 during November. Not good I know.

. . . Ben

 

[BeeJuice]

I use under-floor entrances so the monitoring tray is some 80mm below the open mesh floor. My view is that it is extremely unlikely that any live mite will climb back up to through the mesh into the hive from there.

I tend to leave the monitoring board on most of the time for the following reasons:

1. To get a very rough idea of the numbers of mites in the colony using NBU web site.
2. To see by means of light-coloured cappings whether stores are being opened up and consumed.
3. To see by means of dark coloured cappings the extent of any emerging brood.
4. To monitor for pests in the hive, for example slugs, mice, wood lice, etc. by looking for their droppings.

I think there was a book written that gave information for beeks to interpret what they saw on the monitoring board but I cannot recall the name of the book or author.

The other thing I do to help keep the bees' heat in the hive over winter is I install a "skirt" around the hive stand, made from a double thickness of scaffold netting, so that there are reduced wind eddies under the hive, cooling the colony from below. It also reduces the likelihood of anything on the monitoring board being blown around by the wind.

Hope this is of interest.

CVB

The under floor entrance seems to have a lot of advantages. Easier to defend, mouse proof.. and now this. I've never seen them for sale. Do you have to make them yourself?