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  • What are your top inspection tips?

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #3260  by Chrisbarlow
 25 May 2019, 17:17
Accept that the bees don't mind if you use supers in the brood area and brood boxes above a queen excluder. Ultimately if they need space just use what you've got.
 #3707  by Chrisbarlow
 22 Jun 2019, 21:12
Try raising your own queens. Start with either harvesting queen cells from a colony attempting to swarm to make up nucs or make walk away splits. Either way, have a go.
 #4522  by Chrisbarlow
 15 Aug 2019, 12:12
Another good thread to resurrect
 #4525  by AdamD
 15 Aug 2019, 13:39
At this time of the year there is little forage about these parts so inspections do really need to be quick to avoid robbing as the whiff of an open beehive gets them ALL going.

In my case a few days ago, I lifted supers from a couple of hives and put them in the back of a pick-up before getting some more from another hive. By this time bees were not just all over the supers - even with crown-boads on - but were all over each other's hives as well. It was evening so they should have calmed down quite quickly and hopefully no harm done.
 #4527  by Japey Edge
 15 Aug 2019, 13:58
Great thread.
Regarding supers Adam, would it be a good idea to have a couple of 460mm square plywood sheets? One to sit the super on and another to sit on top of the super. Just for the duration of inspection?
 #4531  by Patrick
 15 Aug 2019, 16:42
Spot on Jazz - for plywood sheets read spare crownboards with taped over feed holes. Saves a world of pain.

I wrote an article for my divisional newsletter a few years ago on the the many uses of the humble crownboard with just a few minor additions they quickly become some of the most useful spare kit to have. I own loads more than I have hives and yet still often run out. Buy a load in the winter sales for under a tenner each, saw a couple of diagonal cuts two inches apart in one or more rims, add a deeper rim all round of one inch pine to one side, gaffer tape over the feed hole if necessary and voila - fondant eke, super “stand” and temp roof, winter top and bottoms for stored comb boxes, emergency spare floor, emergency roof (with a brick on it!), split board for vertical splits, snelgrove board for enthusiasts and er, crown board. Luv ‘em. Can never have too many.

I would use one as a dinner tray if I could get away with it :D
 #4537  by AdamD
 16 Aug 2019, 13:36
As Patrick says - a crown board is better as the lumps and bumps of wax on the top of the frames would make a flat plywood sheet not seal. Flat one OK underneath.
I 'balanced' a un-scraped crown board on the top - probably a few gaps though. Having said that, the aroma of honey at this time of year gets the bees excited with almost anything you do!
 #4546  by Japey Edge
 17 Aug 2019, 09:54
Here's one I would like the answer to. I figured it would fit in for any other keen newbies...

Does it affect the colony if you lift the roof off to look through the clear crown board?

My makeshift crown board is a frame with cut rubble sack in. Works really well. No massive insulation properties though.

I lifted the roof and immediately scanned temperature with my infrared gun. I can't remember the figure but it was consistent for the 30 seconds (approx) that I had the roof off looking in.

In other news I think the super frames I thought were going to be filled have in fact been emptied :cry:
 #4556  by Alfred
 17 Aug 2019, 20:47
Patrick wrote:
15 Aug 2019, 16:42
Spot on Jazz - for plywood sheets read spare crownboards with taped over feed holes. Saves a world of pain.

I wrote an article for my divisional newsletter a few years ago on the the many uses of the humble crownboard with just a few minor additions they quickly become some of the most useful spare kit to have. I own loads more than I have hives and yet still often run out. Buy a load in the winter sales for under a tenner each, saw a couple of diagonal cuts two inches apart in one or more rims, add a deeper rim all round of one inch pine to one side, gaffer tape over the feed hole if necessary and voila - fondant eke, super “stand” and temp roof, winter top and bottoms for stored comb boxes, emergency spare floor, emergency roof (with a brick on it!), split board for vertical splits, snelgrove board for enthusiasts and er, crown board. Luv ‘em. Can never have too many.



T

I would use one as a dinner tray if I could get away with it :D