Any Harm in Checking Hive Again?

[Delmer]

I have two new hives in which I installed packages last weekend.  Went back yesterday (1 week) to make sure the queen was released and to check on syrup.  Both queens were out of their cages.  Found one but could not find the other.  Both were marked.  I didn't want to stress the hive by looking any longer than necessary- I was probably in there 10 mins.  Is there any harm in going back and looking for the queen today, tomorrow?

Thanks
Danny

[Hethen57]

As long as it is a warm day, you are not going to hurt anything.  Obviously, it would be better to let them do their thing without any interruption, but part of the is learning and enjoying your bees.  I would at least satisfy your concern about the queen by locating the queen or eggs, then let them sit for a week or so, and look for capped brood.

[Michael Bush]

No need to find her.  In a couple of weeks look for eggs and larvae.

[Brian D. Bray]

No need to find her.  In a couple of weeks look for eggs and larvae.

The only reason to inspect a new hive a few days after its being hived is to see if the queen has been released from the queen cage and remove said cage.  Packages and swarms are usually still to clustered and festooning over the frames to get a look at a queen.  Wait until some comb has been build and then look for the eggs and larvae, that tells you just as much. 

I know finding the queen is an adrenalin booster for newbees but have patience and let your bees get more established.

[Delmer]

Thanks for the replies-

[Two Bees]

I agree with the above.  Just let her do what she does and everything will be fine.  Just keep the syrup going to them as they draw out comb.  In another 2-3 weeks, you should see a good amount of eggs and larvae.

Remember, everytime you pull a frame out of the brood nest to look for the queen, you run the risk of rolling her!

[jeremy_c]

you run the risk of rolling her!

Rolling her? What does that mean? (new beek)

Jeremy

[asprince]

When you pull drawn frames out of a hive, the bees roll between the frames coming out and going in. This is especially true the more packed the hives gets with honey, wax, populus, and bees.

Steve

[cundald]

you run the risk of rolling her!

Rolling her? What does that mean? (new beek)

Jeremy

I am also some what new to beekeeping, so you masters correct me if I'm wrong.

Jeremy,

Rolling her, is when the queen gets pinched or squeezed between the frames/bees as the beekeeper removed the frames from the hive.

This is one of the reasons that they suggest removing one of the outer frames first and moving into the center, each consecutive frame that you remove lets you increase the distance between the frames when you take then out. 

The queen will usually on the 4 or 5 inner frames.  Working from the outside in, reduces the chance of rolling the queen and damaging her.

cundald

[Brian D. Bray]

One of the reasons for the extra space in the hive than the frames fill is so that the frames can be slid sideways away from each other so that rolling the bees doesn't happen.   The 1st thing, after smoking and removing the top(s), that should be done is to gently pull the outer most frame away from the others toward the sidewall of the hive, this gives an extra 1/4 inch clearance on each side of the frame for removing it without rolling the bees. 
Butch the frames together as much as possible in the center so that there's 3/8-1/2 inch of space between the outer frames and the hive wall.  Then use that space to remove the 1st frame.  Once the 1st frame is out there is plenty of room to move the frame apart without rolling the bees.
Then the problem is pushing the frames back together when finished with the inspection.  That's what the smoke is for, use it to keep the bees out from between the frame ends as they are gently pushed together.  Then recenter all the frames so you have some room on the outsides of the hive to manipulated the frames again.

This will greatly reduce queen failure due to clumsy beekeepers.

[Two Bees]

Couldn't have explained it better, Brian!

Be careful to watch the end bars of your frames as you remove and replace them.  Smoke will sometimes panic the queen and she will begin to run down into the hive (that's what you want her to do).  But if she is "making an end run" around the outside of the frame, you could squish her between the end bar and the sidewall of the hive body.  Steady, slow movement when removing a frame is the key.

When replacing the frame, I place one of the end bars solidly against the wall of the hive body and slowly slide it down into the box.  That way, I'm sure nothing is going to get squished against that end, and as a result, there is plenty of space on the other end of the frame.  Once the frame is in the hive body, then, I center the frame.