Proper Hive Inspection Techniques | Beekeeping Academy | Ep. 35

[@CornerstoneHoneyBees]

You did a great job of talking about what I have coined the term "The Holy Trinity of Beekeeping". I use this term because there is so much information that new beekeepers tend to get glassy-eyed at the the over-information. Having only 3 things that covers 95% of everything a beekeeper needs to worry about helps simplify things and helps a new beekeeper relax. Those things (as you mentioned) are: * Feed & nutrition * Productive Queen * Pest & Disease Control I give everyone full permission to use that term at will. 😀

[@UFHoneyBeeLab1]

Thanks for sharing your insights!

[@boldger13]

Beekeeping is cool!

[@trevorroberts7200]

Thank you! A valuable learning curve for a very novice beekeeper! I live in the Republic Of Georgia and have plenty of land for plenty of hives when I learn my way and retire from full time work......... Maybe a year maybe less! Being Englishman in Georgia makes my ability to talk to other bee keepers kind of limited, so videos and books are the way for me!

[@UFHoneyBeeLab1]

Glad we can be a good resource for you!

[@KeyserTheRedBeard]

Great video, UFhoneybeelab. Can't wait to see your next upload from you. I hit the thumbs up icon on your content. Keep up the fantastic work! I'm curious, how do you determine the optimal timing for hive inspections throughout the different seasons, especially in relation to the health and productivity of the colony?

[@UFHoneyBeeLab1]

We have a document on this topic. Check out: entnemdept.ufl.edu/honey-bee/beekeeper-resources/management/ and click “Time Commitment Associated with Keeping Bees.”

[@maureenjais-mick816]

Thanks for another great video. Up here in Maryland, when we do Fall inspections, I encourage my mentees to start inspecting from the bottom box up (that's after the queen excluders have been removed and we're doing the final whole ive inspection of the season). It seems to help to avoid robbing (we use quiet cloths and keep the supers covered) and also keeps all the bees from being down in the bottom box. Do you ever do this? We mostly use all mediums, so have three boxes going into winter.

[@UFHoneyBeeLab1]

I typically go straight to the bottom box when working a hive. My standard arrangement is a deep brood box, an excluder, and a medium super of honey. The latter is always exclusively for the bees. I never take it. I can judge, by weight, everything I need to know about the upper boxes where the bees should be storing honey.

[@waynelivernois5412]

my only problem is that you are in Florida without enough cold weather to create a freeze. But those in the northern Reagins do get cold, and you did not mention to leave the Queen excluder off over the winter so as not to trap the Queen below it in case the bees had to go through it to get food leaving the Queen behind to freeze to death.

[@UFHoneyBeeLab1]

You are absolutely right. Leaving the queen excluder off in the colder months is essential, and we are addressing it in a future video!

[@altaylor293]

You indicated you confirmed there were no queen cells. Would it not be possible that there were supercedure cells on one of the additional brood frames?

[@UFHoneyBeeLab1]

I am, essentially, making the point that there were no queen cells on the frames I inspected. There could have been cells on the other frames. However, I saw young brood on the frames I inspected and found no cells. That, and the time of year we filmed the video, gave me confidence the queen is present and that they are not producing queen cells for swarming or supersedure purposes.