Hive Inspections

Give a couple puffs of smoke at entrance and wait.

Do not stand in front of entrance.

What should we be looking for when we begin to work the hive?

First, a beekeeper’s job is to do the least amount of damage to the bees.

Remove boxes with twisting motion.

Start by pulling outsideframe.

Hold frames over hive.

A hive should not be open any longer than necessary to do an inspection.

You are looking for things that are not normal.As you gain experience, this will become easier. Hold the frame so that the sun is reaching the frame from over your shoulder.

Don't rush—slow and smooth movements are less likely to aggravate the bees.

You should see:

A good population of honey bees.

Eggs, larvae, and capped brood.

Honey and pollen.

This frame from the brood chamber is close to ideal.

Honey is stored at the top of the frame

Capped brood fills much of the rest of the frame.

Poor laying

pattern

Good brood pattern

Frames with a spotty brood pattern

If the queen has no empty cells in which to lay eggs, the hive is “honey-bound.”

It's not necessary to find the queen each time we open the hive.

We can tell that she is present if you can see eggs in cells.

A check list: Is the queen present and do you see all stages of brood development for worker bees?

Are the bees bringing in pollen and nectar?

Is the bee population growing?

Are the bees building new comb?

Is it time to add another brood box or put on a honey super?

Is there anything unusual you notice?

Self-spacing frames

Do not allow excessive gaps that will allow burr and bridge comb.

Queen Cups

Beginning of queen cells

Not uncommon to see

Built “just in case”

Often dry—look to see if egg and royal jelly inside

Your bees have varroa mites . . .

Sm al l H ive Beet le (SHB)

SHB Larvae

Wax Mot hs

Strong hives will kill wax moths and their larva.

Freezing frames for 48 hours will kill eggs—after winter arrives your frames should be safe until spring.

Wax moth larvae feed on the comb. Storage of honey supers is critical.

Am er ic an Foulbrood Sym pt om s

Cappings will appear sunken, perforated, discolored, or greasy.

Very foul odor.

Brood pattern will be scattered and spotty.

The contents of the cells will be a ropey goo.

European Foulbrood (EFB) Sym pt om s

May have a sour odor

Dead uncapped brood

Cells will not be ropey

Larva may appear

tan or brown

Two Strains: ●Nosema Apis

●Nosema Ceranae

Signs for both the same, but the new strain doesn't respond to treatment.

Nosema

Nosem a Sym pt om s

Spring colonies build up slowly or not at all.

Bees appear weak and may crawl aimlessly around the front of the hive.

The hive has a characteristic spotting. Mustard-brown feces may appear on or around the hive.

Chalk brood

A Common fungal disease that affects the larva.

Passed to larva by direct contact or eating contaminated food.

Fungus germinates and invades the gut and competes for nutrients.

If the larva dies, the fungus invades the body and forms sporulating bodies that propagate the pathogen.

Most common in damp conditions.

Sac brood

Sacbrood is a viral disease of the blood. Similar to the common cold.

This is a rare disease and will probably clear up on it’s own.

Larva will appear grayish to black.

Skin has a watery, sack-like appearance.

There is no approved chemical treatment.

http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/PDFs/AGRS116.pdf