Great day today - good for colony inspection - the bees will probably be plotting to swarm!
Whatever you do don't destroy Q. cells until you are sure the colony has a queen. You could set up a nuc. to use towards the end of the season to strengthen a weak colony.
Inspection Check List -
Clean debris from board under varroa mesh.
Check stores - 1st in brood nest (pollen and honey)
- 2nd in supers
Prepare to add super if approx. 1/3 honey is sealed.
Check every comb in brood box - esp. sides and bottom of frames. You're looking for queen cells
or cups with royal jelly and larva.
Find Q. - easy if you marked her. Look for eggs. If no eggs and can't find Q. the bees could be
preparing to swarm. Not much you can do except keep an eye on them and fetch them back!!
You could try an artificial swarm if you find an uncapped Q cell. If the Q cell is capped then most
likely they'll swarm.
Goes without saying to always keep an eye open for signs of brood disease. If in any doubt call in
your seasonal bee-inspector.
I'm off to check my hives while the sun is still shining.
QBee
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