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Inspecting Colonies

*************************************************************************** Plan Before Heading to the Apiary ***************************************************************************

Plan

Planning ahead is key to ensuring a successful inspection.

*************************************************************************** Decide When to Perform Your Activities at the Apiary ***************************************************************************

Decide When to Perform Your Activities at the Apiary

Plan for when you will be working on your hives.

Good
 Daytime is best. This is when most of the foragers are out of the hive.

Warmer temperatures are best. The hive is kept around 94° by the bees, so your breaking it open will cause the bees to lose the heat. It will take them the better part of the next day to regain that temperature.

Warning
 Most critters show up at night and disturb the colony, making the colony upset.

If the temperature is below 40°, the only reason you should open any part of the hive is to feed them.

Avoid bad weather. Certainly rainy days are out, but if the weather is bad (or headed that way), the bees can sense it and are more easily upset when you disturb their home. Even days where it is too windy will cause the bees to be more suspect of your activities.

Avoid opening or disturbing colonies when neighbors or the general public are participating in outdoor activities within 150 feet of the apiary.

Caution
 If the temperature is below 65° and the activity is not critical (e.g., feeding the hive, or adding/removing varroa treatment), it is best to plan for another day.

*************************************************************************** Plan Your Work ***************************************************************************

Plan Your Work

Plan what you want to achieve at the inspection. A good place to start for this is to look at your records from the prior inspections. Some examples are below.

Activity

Considerations

General Inspection

  • Bring your mobile phone. If you experience any issues, you should be able to use your phone to call for help.
  • Bring a camera (if your phone doesn't have a camera). This is a great way to document anything unusual which you want to review with your mentor.
  • Bring paper and a pencil. Don't try to remember everything you observed or did. You will need to record these in your Inspection and Action Record once you are finished inspecting the hives (or do that one hive at a time).

Check on space utilization

  • Do you need to add any brood boxes or honey supers?
    • Bring as many hive boxs (full of frames) as you think you will need.
    • Bring hive boxes for the size of your hives (i.e., 10-frame, 8-frame, or 5-frame/NUC boxes)
  • Do you need to remove any brood boxes or honey supers?

Honey harvesting

  • Will you be removing any honey supers, or frames?
    • Where you you put the supers when removed (the ground is NOT a good place)?
  • Will you be removing any honey frames?
    • Where you you put the frames you remove?
    • What will you put in their place?

Check on varroa

  • What tools & materials do you need to perform a mite test? The Varroa EasyCheck is a great tool for this.
  • If you are taking multiple samples and then analyzing the results later, ensure you can identify which sample belongs with the respective hive.

Weather-related changes

  • Do you need to add entrance reducers?
  • Do you need to remove any entrance reducers?
  • Do you need to add robbing screens?

Pest-related changes

  • Do you need to add tack strips to the entrance?
    • If so, pre-drill some holes for attaching them to the entrance board, and bring the screws needed. Also, bring a screw driver.
    • The vibration to the hive, coupled with interruption to the comings and goings of the bees, will probably make them angry. Consider wearing heavy gloves.

Splitting the colony

  • Bring a complete hive (bottom board, brood box(es) with frames, inner cover, telescoping cover, etc.)
  • Consider feeding the 2d colony.

Combining two colonies, or adding a swarm to a hive

  • Bring newspaper

Feeding the colony

  • What food do you need to bring to feed them?
  • What feeding equipment will you need to bring?

Cleaning up the area around the apiary

  • Bring a mower
  • Bring a weed whacker
  • Bring hedge trimmers
  • If the area is wooded, consider also bring a saw to remove branches which may have fallen onto the hives.

*************************************************************************** Pack What You Will Need ***************************************************************************

Pack What You Will Need

Collect the items you will need when at the apiary. Some items to consider include:

  • Hive tool(s) -- at least one for each person
  • Sharpie to mark any added frames with the year they were added
  • Several entrance reducers, including ones with robbing screens
  • Stiff rod for cleaning out the bottom of the hive
  • Bee brush
  • Cappings scratcher
  • Extra beetle traps (I prefer the reusable beetle jail over the one-time use beetle blaster)
  • Mineral oil and pollen for the beetle traps
  • Extra ratchet straps
  • Waste container, preferably with a lid. This will get used when you remove any propolis or burr comb from the honey. Don't simply toss it onto the ground: this encourages pests.
  • Extra smoker fuel
  • A lighter to re-light the smoker. I recommend one which has a long reach so you can get down into the smoker if necessary. Also, look for one which works well in the wind.
  • Frame hanger
  • Frame spacer, if you are wanting to do this on your honey supers.

*************************************************************************** Get Ready ***************************************************************************

Get Ready

  1. Gather what you have planned to need.
  2. Start your smoker.
  3. Get your safety equipment on. If you are expecting the colony to be aggressive or angry, I recommend you wear boots which protect your ankles, combined with elastic straps around your trouser legs.

*************************************************************************** Inspect the Colony ***************************************************************************

Inspect the Colony

Observe the Apiary

As you approach and enter the apiary,

  1. Look around to see if any damage has been done to the hives in the apiary.
  2. Look around the apiary to see if there is are any indications that pests have been around.
    • Scratches on the hives, and
    • Scratches in the soil around the hives.

Observe the Outside of the Hive You Are Planning to Inspect

Now, for each colony you are inspecting, before opening the hive, look at the outside of the hive.

  1. Is there an extraordinary amount of dead bees on the ground? A few hundred is expected (remember,they only live 6 weeks), but thousands is not good.
  2. Are there bees crawling around on the ground in front of the hive?
  3. Is the colony doing anything odd or unexpected?
  4. Note any changes in defensiveness. Does an increase (or decrease) make sense for:
    • This colony, based on their history,
    • The time of year, and
    • The weather conditions?
  5. Look for any excess amounts of diarrhea on the outside of the hive, indicating dysentery.
  6. Look at the bees coming into the hive and leaving from it.
    • Check the traffic coming into and out from the hive. Does the quantity of bees seem appropriate for the time of year?
    • Are the bees bringing in pollen? Should they be doing so this time of year?

Inspect the Colony

When you open up the hive,

  1. Is there an unusual odor? This could be American Foul Brood (or it could be from the bees collecting pollen from goldenrod).
  2. Look for indications of diseases. Some indications include hairless or wingless bees, or bees with K-shaped wings.
  3. Are there excess small hive beetles?
  4. Are there other pests of note?

5-Frame Langstroth Hive

Use the images to the right & below for this set of instructions.


Traditional Hive Tool Use


J-Hook Hive Tool Use

The hive tool is often used incorrectly when breaking the frame loose from the hive body. It is best to rotate the tool as shown in the pictures to the left. (You can click on either of the pictures to see a larger version.)

As you prepare to remove the frames for inspection, it is recommended to start by removing frame ②.

Frame ① will probably have its left side attached to the box using wax or propolis, and

Frame ⑤ will probably have its right side attached to the box using wax or propolis.

Removing either of these frames will probably unnecessarily jar the hive, making the bees upset. Also, if the queen is between either frame and the hive body, it is easy to damage or kill her.

Be sure to pull the ② frame straight out and do not let it press against the frames on either side. Again, you do not want to risk damaging or killing the queen.

Once frame ② has been removed, frame ③ can be shifted to the left (towards frame ①) and then removed for inspection. Similarly, frame ⑤ can then be shifted to towards the left before removing it.

Removing either frame ① or ⑤ is rarely necessary. But if either should be removed, be careful when detaching the frame from the hive’s body.

As you inspect the frames, use the guidance below.

Expect to See

Indications of problems or action needed

  • Honey Supers ***********

Honey Supers *************************************************************************** Expect to see ***************************************************************************

  • Some brace comb
  • Propolis holding stuff in place

*************************************************************************** Signs of an issue ***************************************************************************

  • Excess brace comb
  • Excess propolis
  • Evidence of pests
  • Evidence of wax moth activity
  • Brood cells
  • Storage of pollen or bee bread
  • Brood Chamber ***********

Brood Chamber *************************************************************************** Expect to see ***************************************************************************

  • Presence of eggs, uncapped larva, & capped brood
  • Brood frames with good patterns of honey and pollen around the brood cells
  • Brood cells are tightly packed together, not scattered about (some open cells is not problematic.
  • Drone cells
  • Unfilled queen cups

*************************************************************************** Signs of an issue ***************************************************************************

  • Brood cells which look "odd", especially brood cells which do not seem to have enough royal jelly (which would indicate a shortness of protein)
  • Indications of a laying worker
    • Presence of eggs not centered on the bottom of the cell and standing straight up
    • Presence of multiple eggs per cell
  • Cell shapes which look "odd"
  • Workers are filling up all the available space with nectar/honey.
  • Brood cells are seemingly randomly spaced around
  • Drone cells > 10% of the brood
  • Queen cups filled
  • No evidence of the queen

*************************************************************************** Closing Up the Hive ***************************************************************************

Closing Up the Hive

As you close up the hive after completing the inspection:

  1. Be sure to put the frames back into place where they were originally (unless you have a specific reason to change their locations).
  2. For the honey supers, consider spacing the frames as far apart as possible. This will allow the bees to draw the comb out as far as possible, making the honey harvest easier.

*************************************************************************** Additional Pictures of This ***************************************************************************

Additional Pictures of This

*************************************************************************** Usage Notes ***************************************************************************

Usage Notes

*************************************************************************** How it Works ***************************************************************************

How it Works

*************************************************************************** Notes on Making One ***************************************************************************

Notes on Making One

*************************************************************************** More Information ***************************************************************************

More Information

Published Articles

Books and Papers

  • The Backyard Beekeeper by Flottum, Kim.
  • Beekeeping for Beginners by Bradshaw, Amber.

Web Sites

Presentations & Videos

Other

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About this Site

Disclaimer: eMail comments to me at BeekeepingBoK @ Gmail.com. The process of beekeeping can cause injury or be a health hazard unless proper precautions are taken, including the wearing of appropriate protective equipment.