Tonight we did our first hive inspection. We wiated until the winds finally died down - it has been so windy for days! Tonight it is finally calm and it was ideal as this evening was warm and sunny and lovely. The bees were calm and didn't seem to mind us at all!
The inspections went well. We didn't find the Queens at all - kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack! We know its quite common not to find the Queens the first time - so next week we will look for signs of the Queens presence which will be easier to look for the second week.
We also didn't find any burr comb. But the bees have been busy inside and have drawn lots of comb on the frame and have been busy collecting pollen and filling the comb with the pollen. As I checked the frames and looked for the Queens, Lloyd took pictures for me. It was fascinating looking through the hives and watching the bees at their work! We didn't see any signs of mites at all and the bees seemed happy and healthy - we saw several with plenty of pollen on their legs! Thats a great sign!!!
I'm so glad they ahve accepted the plastic frames :) painting the extra wax onto them and spraying the syrup obviously paid off! And the Queens were released with no problems :)
3 comments:
so next time are you going to do it without the veil?
Man, I would have a bubble around me and a pool to dive into if I needed it! No way I would be that close to the hive.......sweetie, you're on your own to get pictures!
Lol...I don't know - the silly bees get stuck in my hair! I think they are attracted to the scent of the shampoo maybe but my hair is so thick and they get caught in it - and Abigails! Maybe when its longer I can just tie it back but its not long enough yet.
I wore the gloves so I could put my hand right into the bottom to pull out the Queen cages.
The bees really weren't bothered by us though - we were surprised. We had the smoker but we didn't really need it.
You should come over the next time I do an inspection and you might surprise yourself!
You look very happy Jane! Completely in your element eh? Bee-Lover!
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