Hive Check 4-4-12
This is the online version of my hive inspection notes. More descriptive posts about this hive can be found on the Crocus Hive page.
It has been cold over the last week or so. I put the insulation back in the outer cover. The bees have been cooped up inside the hive all week and have pooped a bit on the outside of the hive. The temp today was in the upper 50s windy and sunny, and the bees seemed busier and louder than normal. No smoke used or needed during this inspection. I saw yellow pollen pale and bright, white-grey and blue pollen coming into the hive.
Frames 3-4 in the top box have capped brood and a few larvae. The bottom box has a mix of eggs, capped brood and larvae on frames 4, 5 & 6. I was a tad bit worried that reversing the supers so early might spread out the brood too far but the baby bees survived and are raising brood just fine in both boxes. The rest of the top super has been completely drained of honey and pollen. The bees looked hungry, licking the cells in the top box clean of nectar. However, the bottom box shows they have plenty of food with 6 frames of capped and uncapped honey.
Box Breakdown
Top box – Frames 1 – 2 are empty. Frames 3-4 are filled with capped brood and larvae. Frame 5-10 are empty and frames 8-9 still need to be cleaned from the winter with a few dead chilled brood remaining.
Bottom Box – Frames 1-3 have capped and uncapped honey. Frames 4-5-6 have eggs, larvae, capped brood mixed on the frames. Frames 7-10 have honey both capped and uncapped.
My previous inspection can be found here.