Hive Inspection – Lake Becky – 20200403

BriBlog

beekeeping, hive inspection, walk away split

Overview

Fourteenth day since Hive 2 was split from Hive 1. No uncapped brood or eggs in either hive. One recently emerged empty queen cell in Hive 2.

Photos

None.

Hive 1 – Woodpile

Observations

  • 11 frames total.
  • Active foraging with good income of nectar and pollen.
  • Capped worker and drone brood.
  • No eggs.
  • No uncapped brood.
  • Walking drones seen.
  • Queen not found.
  • No sign of small hive beetle or wax moth.
  • No mite counts performed.

Frames

  • 7 honey – about 50% full. Mostly uncapped nectar. Some capped honey.
  • 5 brood – capped worker and drone. No queen cells or cups.

Actions

  • None.
  • Oil traps were swapped for diatomaceous earth after last inspection.

Hive 2 – Boathouse Roof

Observations

  • This is the 14th day since this split was created.
  • Capped worker and drone brood present.
  • Good influx of nectar and pollen.
  • No eggs or uncapped brood seen.
  • One recently emerged queen cell.
  • Large proportion of drones among the population.
  • Moderate activity at the entrance.
  • No sign of robbing or vermin.

Frames

  • 2 brood – All capped or empty with ordinary pattern of honey and pollen cells surrounding brood. One recently emerged queen cell.
  • 3 stores – New capped honey, new nectar.

Actions

  • None.

Hive 3 – Boathouse Door

Observations

This hive is empty. It has been cleaned and placed onto a level block pad awaiting bees.

Frames

None.

Actions

None.

Plan of Action

  • Inspect hives 1 and 2 in 20 days.
  • If either hive still has no uncapped brood – re-queen or combine queenless colony.

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