Beekeeping operations that treat their bee colonies

     There are many tasks that a beekeeper performs in the apiary. These tasks involve various activities that a beekeeper undertakes to control bee colonies according to his wishes and direct them to produce what he desires at the right time, with maximum productivity and minimal cost. It also includes all methods the beekeeper employs to preserve his colonies from weakening or collapsing. These tasks are scheduled, meaning that each has an appropriate time for performance throughout the year. These operations include: Inspection of Bee Colonies - Feeding the Bee Colonies - Preparing Colonies for Honey Flow Season - Dividing Bee Colonies - Uniting Bee Colonies - Wintering - Queen Renewal , and other operations.

In this post, we will discuss the inspection of bee colonies. You can access other topics by clicking on their titles mentioned in the previous paragraph or through the Beekeeping Guidance Section.

Inspection of Bee Colonies

        The inspection of colonies is conducted regularly throughout the year to constantly assess the condition of the colonies, ensuring they are healthy and allowing any deficiencies or issues to be addressed promptly.

Purpose of Inspecting Bee Colonies

1. To observe the queen and ensure she is healthy. The queen is usually found on the central combs. However, it is often challenging to locate her, especially in crowded colonies. Certain signs can indicate her presence or absence, such as: A) The presence of eggs, young larvae, brood, and calmness among the bees. B) If the queen is missing, signs include no eggs and agitation among the worker bees, with their rapid movement across the combs and at the hive entrance. C) If she is missing, there may also be queen cells at different stages of growth.
2. To check the bees and brood for diseases and parasites.
3. To inspect the combs for stored food and assess the colony’s needs.
4. To clean the frames, walls, and floor of the hive from propolis, excess wax pieces, and wax moth larvae, if any, and to dispose of them.
5. To check for signs of swarming and to destroy any queen cells and male brood if present.
6. To understand the colony's condition and determine its need for empty combs or the addition of a new super if the first one is filled with combs or to reduce the number of unused combs not covered by bees.
7. To arrange brood combs so they are adjacent to each other in the center of the brood box, which greatly aids in warming the brood and organizing work within the hive.

Bee Colony Inspection Timing

1. It is preferred to inspect bee colonies from ten in the morning until three in the afternoon, and during summer, inspection can extend to four-thirty in the evening, as it is the period when the bees are foraging outside the hive.
2. Choose moderate times for inspection with calm winds, and avoid inspection if the temperature rises above (35°C) or drops below (10°C) to prevent harming the brood.
3. It is advisable not to inspect frequently before or immediately after the honey flow season to avoid the spread of the phenomenon of robbing among bee colonies.
4. If the apiary is near a main road, inspect the colonies when there is as little traffic as possible.

        To determine inspection cycles in different seasons, consider that the life cycleof the queen bee from the time of egg-laying until the emergence of the complete insect (virgin queen) takes an average of 15 days, which is necessary to prevent the emergence of queens and swarming. Therefore, inspect bee colonies during the swarming season (February - June) once a week, whereas in the honey flow season, this cycle can be extended to ten days. In winter, the interval between each inspection can range from 20 to 30 days, ensuring that inspections are only conducted on warm, sunny days with moderate winds. Additionally, beekeepers must note that tasks performed during inspection vary depending on the season, the activity level of the colony, and prevailing environmental conditions.

Inspection of Bee Colonies Before and During the Honey Flow Season

         Bees generally do not tend to sting during the honey flow season, especially if it is a rich season, as they are busy collecting and storing nectar. The inspector’s task is to provide the colony with necessary wax foundations to speed up comb-building, preferably placing them on either side of the brood combs to avoid disrupting the queen's movement between the frames for egg-laying. For weaker colonies, supply combs from the previous year or wax foundations already drawn earlier in the same year from other hives. Usually, the arrangement of combs follows a fixed pattern during the honey flow season. See the best arrangement for wax combs in the bee hive.

Inspection of Bee Colonies During Harvesting

    Mature honey in the combs is identified by a thin wax seal covering it. If this is not the case, sealed combs with mature honey will feel heavier than usual. When such combs are tilted above the hive and shaken, the honey does not spill from the hexagonal cells, unlike unripe honey, which has a watery consistency and spills from the hexagonal cells when the combs are tilted. In this case, it is left for a week or ten days until it fully matures. Read more on Honey Production and Extraction (Proper Production, Extraction, and Storage Methods)

Inspection of Bee Colonies in the Fall

   When inspecting colonies in the fall, it is necessary to know the amount of stored honey and pollen, ensuring they are sufficient to last through the upcoming winter. With practice, it becomes easier to estimate an adequate amount by lifting the hives from their legs while they remain in place. If the food supply is insufficient, the beekeeper should address this by feeding the bees with sugar syrup and stored pollen if available, or even with one of the good quality pollen substitutes made from natural, non-manufactured ingredients. In general, the colony should contain 3 to 4 honeycombs, placed on either side of the combs containing brood.

   To estimate the amount of bees in the colony without lifting the frames, you can look at the brood chamber from above. If you observe an abundance of bees moving around, this indicates a strong colony. The strength of the honey bee colony is measured by the number of frames covered by bees on both sides. A weak colony has bees covering 5–7 frames, a medium colony covers 8–10 frames, and a strong colony covers 11–15 frames. More than that is considered very strong.

   Since fall is when wasps, particularly the date wasp, intensify their attacks on colonies, especially the weaker ones, and robbing occurs between bee colonies, it is essential to limit hive openings as much as possible, narrowing the hive entrance. Colonies are generally inspected every two weeks during this period, and in late fall, frames not covered by bees are removed, fumigated, and stored until needed. It is also important to consider merging weak colonies or those without a queen into strong colonies or combining several weak colonies to help them survive the coming winter.

Inspection of Bee Colonies in Winter

   Inspections in winter should be minimized as long as there is an adequate food supply. If an inspection is necessary, it should be done on a warm, sunny day. The inner wooden cover should be replaced with a thick cloth or a rice bag made from tree fibers to reduce empty space and airflow, helping to protect the colony from cold or frost (wintering). Winter cushions should also be placed, and the hive base changed to winter height. Colonies are usually inspected every month or twenty days as needed during this season.