Hives Inspection

[limyw]

I am a beginner. As my hives growing big I cant afford to inspect each frame as it really time consuming. To remove a full super is a hard job, I estimate about 25kgs. So how frequent I should check my hive? can I just skip some frame each time checking?

I guest if we just observe bees in boarding board can roughly tell how healthy is the hive. If bees come back with plenty of pollen, it could be means there are plenty of cap broods inside. Or if the bees come back without carrying pollen, I assume they must carry honey for own consumption. If the queen absconded, bees become very lazy and inactive. Of course, if other hives also inactive, it may be due to less food source available. Random frame inpection is mainly to know whether mites are destroying comb. I used to dig out a few capped drone each time to see whether they attack by mites.

Is my view valid? Any better suggestion? Thanks.

[Finman]

There is two main reason to check the hive: swarming and space enough for honey.

In Finland bees swarm in June. The biggest reason for is that there is a 2 weeks gab in blooming, bees are without work and they swarm. Hives must be shecked every week. Time table comes from development of quuen cells.

When yield starts, I know from weather and from the blooming time of flowers, is honey coming or not.  I put so much space, that they can put at least one week honey inside. If their space is full, bees can swarm quite soon.

When honey is capped, there is no use to keep it in the hive. It is better that bees have empty space, so they gather honey and they do not give in their heads that hive is full.

If bees have brood and queen cells, they gather honey as well as without queen. In Finland we often take queen away before mainblooming. So bees have nothing to do but gather honey. They have no larvas what to feed.

When you are beginner, it is most important to learn, how colony react at blooming, weather, season so on.  

The skill of beekeeping is, that you know alternatives what bees are going to do next and you try to lead them according your mind.

Most beginners unsucceed in beekeeping, because they do not check they hives often enough to learn bees natural life cycle.

You should take into use Farrar boxes as supers. It is 10 kg less than full Langstroth box. Honey handling with Langtroths is hard work.

When honey is not coming and there is no swarming season, bees can be in peace one whole month.  You cannot see from flight, are they healty. Brood are mostly sick and it can be checkec once a month.


I have bee in Malaysia 10 days in Langawi. Before that I did not know where that country is. When I byed flying tickets, after that I looked, where I am going.

You weather is all the time summer. I do not know, how to manage bees in your circumstances.

Most important is to get bee stock which is not eager to swarm.

[Horns Pure Honey]

Check each hive fully at least 1 time a month, if you have alot this will become a big circle, making it easier on you. bye