Central Beekeepers Alliance held a beekeeping field day for new beekeepers on Sunday, 3 May 2009. We unwrapped the hives and opened them up for inspection, for the first time since they were put away last fall.
Fortunately (?) there were a couple of deadouts too — a useful learning opportunity as we carried out a “post mortem” to figure out if disease was present, or if the bees had died for some other likely reason. As soon as the rain stops again, the next step will be applying formic acid pads (for Varroa mite control) to those hives that were successfully over-wintered.
Here’s a selection of photographs for those who missed this afternoon of spring hive inspection, socializing, and cinnamon buns.
Click on any picture for a larger image and more information about what it shows:
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- Wintered bee hives with a protected hive entrance.
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- Starved bees: Note that all bees in this small cluster are dead.
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- Removing mould from frame of bees that starved in the winter.
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- Signs of starved bees: Bees with abdomens sticking out of cells.
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- Dead Varroa mites and wax crumbs on bottom board after winter.
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- This very weak over-wintered bee colony was moved into a nuc box.
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- Spare frames of foundation waiting on Bee-Mate field stand.
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- Live bees with capped brood.
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- Nice healthy bees with capped brood!
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- Preventative treatment for American foulbrood – just applied.
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- The product “Foul Brood Mix”
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- Find the queen bee!
we had a great day……. very nice pictures!