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  • What are your top inspection tips?

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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #2412  by Chrisbarlow
 21 Mar 2019, 07:51
When you are doing an inspection what would be 5 tips to do?

I am not saying the top 5 just 5 things you do, that help you manage your bees?

I would say my 5 tips would be

1/ Watch the entrance, if bees are coming and going, there are bees in there to inspect
2/ if you see eggs laid pointing up and out of the cell, then the queens has laid that egg in the last 24hours
3/ heft the hive every time you visit so when it gets to Autumn, you can start to understand hive weight and stores inside
4/ always check the hive after youve put it back together, to make sure its put together correctlty
5/always check the hive body before you start to do an inspection so you know if any thing needs replacing
Last edited by Chrisbarlow on 10 May 2019, 19:44, edited 1 time in total.
 #2413  by Patrick
 21 Mar 2019, 09:36
Good one. Or five.

Again not necessarily top five but five tips:

1) use or find a smoker fuel that reliably stays lit and lasts untended for the foreseeable duration of your apiary inspection. It will be the last hive you look at that will kick off when your smoker has gone out. Some smoker fuels often used are not fit for purpose imho.

2) Ease off stuck down crownboards and QXs by lifting off a corner then running the blade under and round the perimeter. Framed wires excluders will last longer and less disruption to bees rather than easing up one corner and simply levering off with a jolt.

3) Don’t smoke the entrance first unless it is a real beast you need to calm down in advance. Why make them go up, then open and smoke to stay down? Give them a chance.

4) Leave queen cups alone. They are easy and obvious to check for early signs of intent to swarm.

5) Inspect with an open mind to look at what the combs and bees are actually telling you, not just for what you think you should be seeing this time of year or what you assumed would be happening by now based on the previous inspection.
 #2416  by AdamD
 21 Mar 2019, 14:03
3) Don’t smoke the entrance first unless it is a real beast you need to calm down in advance. Why make them go up, then open and smoke to stay down? Give them a chance.

A good point - many books say smoke the entrance first which, as you point out drives the bees to the top where you will next next be as you take the crown board off. A smoke through the feeder holes or in the corner as you lift off the crown board is possible, then give them a few moments to respond.
I take out one brood frame to give me room to allow me to slide the others across and carry out inspections. I assessed someone last year for the BBKA Basic, and she was taught to take out two. Whether you take out one or two initially, the frames you inspect should be replaced one by one and pushed (hard) against the previous one before the next one is taken out. With a small colony, you can often see where the brood is and I would not necessarily take out each frame if there's no point; just the interesting ones (with brood in).
Colonies with followers after the crown board goes back are marked with an exclamation mark in my notes. The queen may not have long after that!
 #2417  by Jim Norfolk
 21 Mar 2019, 14:40
5 more:

During the swarming season, have an empty nuc box ready to put the frame with the queen on in. Then if you find queen cells later you don't have to find her again.

Wear two pairs of thin nitrile gloves. A long cuff inner and cheap outer. Then if you need to handle the queen or do something delicate you can remove the sticky, propolised, honey covered outer glove. It is almost impossible to put a clean glove on a sweaty hand and bees usually attack them as I know to my cost.

Have a bucket of washing soda solution to wash tools and gloves between hives. This is good practice and reduces disease transfer and material from other hives which might aggravate some colonies.

Use a dummy board as it is usually easier to take out than the first frame. The frames can be moved together as each is inspected and the dummy board put in at the other end.

Use a one handed queen catcher (product Q0090 Thornes). Queens can be marked and also clipped when held in one.
 #2421  by Chrisbarlow
 21 Mar 2019, 18:56
I agree about the washing soda in a bucket to clean stuff. I have a bucket in most of my apiaries and it is a god send.
 #2424  by MickBBKA
 21 Mar 2019, 23:05
Not a top 5 but I always make sure I stop and look before I dive in, are the hives intact, what does it look like in front of the hive, what are the bees doing, what are they bringing in, what is their mood. All worth considering before you lift a crown board.

Cheers, Mick.
 #2497  by Chrisbarlow
 27 Mar 2019, 22:43
MickBBKA wrote:
21 Mar 2019, 23:05
Not a top 5 but I always make sure I stop and look before I dive in, are the hives intact, what does it look like in front of the hive, what are the bees doing, what are they bringing in, what is their mood. All worth considering before you lift a crown board.

Cheers, Mick.
I think this is one of the most underated skills a beekeeping can have, the ability to just sit there, be quiet, observe the hive entrance, the direction of the bees and just generally have a good look at the kit they are in, what the stand is like, what in flowers around the apiary, all with lifting a hive tool or lighting a smoker.
 #2500  by DianeBees
 28 Mar 2019, 09:18
Be prepared: have everything you need for the inspection there with you. Wax bucket, wash bucket, smoker, fuel, tool box, clean gloves, suit, boots.

Always look at the hives from a few meters away before you leave. You'll notice the lid that isn't on right.

Don't be frightened of using a bit of smoke. Just make sure it's nice and not flamey!

Make notes and look at them before you visit the hives next time. That'll tell you what extra kit you need to take.

Find a friend to help. It's much more fun when there's someone to look at hives with!
 #2501  by DianeBees
 28 Mar 2019, 09:19
Chrisbarlow wrote:
27 Mar 2019, 22:43


I think this is one of the most underated skills a beekeeping can have, the ability to just sit there, be quiet, observe the hive entrance, the direction of the bees and just generally have a good look at the kit they are in, what the stand is like, what in flowers around the apiary, all with lifting a hive tool or lighting a smoker.
At the Hive Entrance - well worth reading.
 #2502  by AdamD
 28 Mar 2019, 13:44
Jim Norfolk wrote:
21 Mar 2019, 14:40

During the swarming season, have an empty nuc box ready to put the frame with the queen on in. Then if you find queen cells later you don't have to find her again.
if you go to a colony that's swarmed, take a bunch of queen cages with you - I have been asked to help out in such a case more than once and there's 1/2 dozen queens that emerge pretty well in front of your eyes! It's quite a fun job to deal with.