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.