Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: TheMasonicHive on June 18, 2010, 05:52:33 pm
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Hello everyone,
In all the books I've read I've heard you should check once a week...at most...at your hives for your first year. The books say it gives you a better idea of how things work.
Now I don't want to sound like a know it all, but I think I've got the basic grasp I need, and I know I've got a lot to learn.
My question is am I better off just leaving them alone and checking them once a month? It seems like a whole lot could go wrong in a month.
You beeks that have a larger apiary, what do you do?
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I do inspect hives every 3 weeks while I'm doing drone removal. When the flow is on I leave them alone and simply check the upper super to make sure they have room. Of course if there's a hive I'm concerned about I will review as needed. Removing a drone frame can tell you a lot while your in there. If there are no eggs, larva or capped brood in the drone frame you can count on there being trouble. Thet's when I go digging.
I made sure to requeen all my hives last fall (except one I couldn't find the queen in) and it's made it really easy (knock on wood) as no one has shown an itch to swarm. Except for the one hive I didn't requeen. I was lucky enough to find her about week before she was going to swarm. I removed her and 3 frames of capped brood that are now doing well in my 5 frame observation hive.