❹ Roof top hive first inspection of 2024! Did they survive winter?

S04E12 First look in the roof top hive. Going into it we had several questions:
Did they survive?
Did they swarm?
Is it time to split them?
We found answers to all those questions in our inspection.
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Some of the links may contain affiliate links, which I may earn a small commission on, if purchases are made through that link. This will not add to your price. Thanks for your support.

[@aodhhanswtor7252]

After this hive survived on its own for 7 years before last year's intervention, I probably would have felt poorly if they didn't survive this latest weather. After surviving for so long on its own, I imagine this hive has some FANTASTIC genetics.

[@BrianCooper901]

It is a pretty awesome colony! We found no mites but I do believe it swarms often. Thanks for watching!

[@wrightsshangri-laapiary8487]

Hello there... My name is Bill Wright Jr I have been a beekeeper now for 10 + years. I have been mentoring folks as well and really like the way you are so patient and helpful with the young lad your helping get started in the beekeeping world. I have been watching a lot of your videos that you guys do in which he has been doing inspections with you and wondered if he has a bee keeping channel of his own . If so would like to follow him as well in his journey of beekeeping . Beekeeping is a journey in which i never regretted doing and plan on doing it well into the future . Keep up the good work , Hope to hear from you soon , Thanks Bill

[@BrianCooper901]

Bill Thanks for taking the time to watch and the kind comments. He currently does not have a channel but I will pass along your message. He now has a hive at his home so he may be able to do that.

[@aodhhanswtor7252]

Wow. So healthy. So many. Newly hatched nurse bees probably couldn't get to the queen immediately and decided to charge a few cells. Poor queen is probably going crazy trying to find empty space. Foragers doing great as well. So much pollen. Excellent producers and workers. Not to mention relatively calm.

[@BrianCooper901]

Thanks again for commenting!

[@dcsblessedbees]

Oh I remember this hive, looks like it's doing well.

[@BrianCooper901]

Hey DC! Yes it is doing well I was very concerned it would swarm before we could schedule a time to inspect it. So far so good! Still treatment free (besides the split if you consider that a treatment.) It is teaching me a lot.

[@aodhhanswtor7252]

Cell phones are great on cloudy days. If you can't tell if there are eggs or not. Ensure your phone camera is set to do high resolution pictures. Take a picture of the cells, zoom in on the picture, and you can easily see if it's a reflection or eggs.

[@BrianCooper901]

Great tip thank you!

[@michaelhellmann5030]

Back to two hives up here! I’m learning through you!!!

[@BrianCooper901]

Fingers crossed they both do well this year! This time of year makes it a bit more forgiving for any mistakes we may have made.

[@skjoennemand]

Try to stand and walk as little as possible in front of the entrance of the hive😊

[@BrianCooper901]

Great point! I think how we have the hives configured somewhat forces one of us to stand near the entrance. It may be best to move that hive over to avoid that situation. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

[@chrisstewart1863]

What happened to the other hive. I remember you having two queens so made two hives…?

[@BrianCooper901]

They did not survive. The split was not strong enough. We were able to make another split this year though and last I saw they were both still alive.

[@Larryburnell]

To help solve the problem of pollen bound frames, I've found that if you put a pollen trap ( I usethe cheap plastic ones ) at the front entrance of the hive ( I block the top entrance in the inner cover ), you force the bees to use up the pollen that is already in the hive, freeing up space for the queen to lay eggs in the empty cells, the only draw back is that you have to empty the pollen trap every day or every other day.

[@BrianCooper901]

Great tip! I'll have to see if he's willing to give that a try. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!