Spring audit of bee colonies
With the onset of spring time comes an important moment in the work of every beekeeper – a complete inspection of the bee colon. It is carried out after the first spring flight of bees and a quick survey of the apiary.
In this case, the beekeeper checks the quality of the queens, the biological state of brood and bees. The main indicator of good work of the uterus is a continuous seeding of eggs and printed brood in the framework without a pass.
Brood with skips is called motley or latticed. In this case, the uterus may be old or have some vices, it should be changed later.
If the cells with printed brood and larvae alternate in the frame, this indicates a possible disease in the bee colony, in which a part of the pupae or larvae perishes. The bees carry them out of the frame, and the womb again sows new eggs into the vacated cells.
In the certificate of the spring audit the beekeeper indicates the number of dead families with the indication of the causes of death.
During the complete inspection of the apiary, the beehives are cleaned of winter contamination: the scuff is removed, dirt is removed from the frames, the bottom and walls of the hive. If there is mold on the walls of bee housing, then it is scraped off by a chisel and rubbed with a hard cloth.
After cleaning the hive, the frames are put in their original place, and the garbage is burned or buried in the ground. Do not forget that the unfit frame is replaced by fresh, taken from the stock of the beekeeper.
With a large amount of mold on the walls of the beehive, bees must be transplanted to another, disinfected bee housing. At the same time, each beekeeper must have in stock about 10% of clean prepared beehives from the total number of beekeeping families for the timely resolution of such problems.
An experienced beekeeper pays attention during the inspection for the presence of food in bees. If it turns out to be less than 1 kg per street, you should substitute frames with food or give the family a thick sugar syrup. Surplus feed of one bee-family is redistributed to those families that lack it.
With a safe winter, the beekeeper will see the presence of brood on a 2-4 framework, corresponding to the strength of the family. Sealed brood width of the palm is in the center of the frame, closer to the upper bar. Around it are unsealed larvae and eggs. This kind of family has a winter hibernation which passed safely.
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