Hives Inspection

Credit:Biovision-Infonet

Hive inspection should be done at least once a month in order to get acquainted with your bees. This will enable you to know:

• When the colony needs a new queen
• The colonies with docile bees
• Productive colonies
• Colonies with less tendency of swarming
• Performance of the queen
• Presence of pests, predators and diseases
• Whether the honeybee colonies need supplementary feeding
• When to make a division to form a new colony
• When to harvest the honey

This is normally done through keeping a work-plan 

Step 6: Inspect inside the hives to see if: 

• The bees are building combs correctly (one comb on one top bar);
• The queen is laying enough eggs;
• The brood nest has a closed brood area without too many empty cells in between
• There are any leakages of water;
• There are intruders like ants, beetles or spiders;
• There are diseases harming the bees.