What can you see from just watching the front of the hive?

[enigmatica]

I find I lose hours during the day just staring at the front of my hives. I've WBC hives so they've got a landing board and it seems to me that I could gather a lot of information about what's going on in there without blundering in too often. So, if there's a lot of pollen going in are they feeding young? If there's a lot of play flights are they hatching OK? If there's almost no pollen is there a problem? I'd love to know what the experienced beeks look for when just idling by the hives....

 

[clv101]

Have you seen the book: At the Hive Entrance - H. Storch
A google search will guide you to the pdf file.

 

[enigmatica]

Excellent, thank you!

 

[oliver90owner]

I look at the weather and the time of day/year before even thinking of drawing conclusions by looking at a hive.

 

[enigmatica]

It's probably just coincidence but they've saved me from a soaking a few times, when the traffic is all back into the hive a rain storm has been only minutes away.

 

[REDWOOD]

Bees doing out of the order things that fascinate me, I can never understand for what purpose they do them.

 

[inthewoods]

i sit with my binocular's few yard's away .best way to watch .what's going on.
and don't disturb them....i can get right on the landing board .........

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
I cannot remember who wrote it maybe it was Storch, but one cannot judge colony size by the activity at the hive entrance.

 

[oliver90owner]

Really? No colony is super strong at the start of spring expansion, but one can often tell the strength of the ones that are not flying - often weak or dead.

Anyone that relies on one observation/parameter only, for keeping bees is likely to get it very wrong - probably sooner than later.

Thread starter was about what is going on, not the strength of the colony. Two different things entirely.

 

[inthewoods]

i watch as it's fascinating ,the way they go about .not because im trying to second guess what's going on in the hive.

 

[Dishmop]

What can you see from just watching the front of the hive?

all sorts of things after a bottle of good red..

 

[Blue Spinnaker]

or white or a couple of G&Ts or pint....

 

[johnnie1uk]

Have you seen the book: At the Hive Entrance - H. Storch
A google search will guide you to the pdf file.

Have just downloaded to the Kindle, thanks.

 

[suedavies0117]

me too, (have downloaded book to kindle) and me too ......spend too much time hive gazing lol, I go up at least a couple of times every day to see what they are doing.