How often do you inspect your hives?

[Ray Bayless]

This first year I was in them deeply at least once a week all season. I understand that in reality you should only go in 4 times before the flow starts mainly to medicate and check for swarm cells. No inspections during flow and 4 post flow to check queen, stores and medicate. Is that about right? How often do you guys perform inspections?

[Finski]

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There is no rules how often you should peep into hive. It need not inspection.

Beekeeping skill is such that you learn to know how the colony developes during years course. Bee is wild animal and it live with its instincts.  so you must learn its natural habit to live and then try to lead colony to your own aims.

So as a beginner you shoup peep into the hive, how build up goes

- enough room in spring
- swarming time
- flow time: enough free space, capped honey off, order of frames brood, empty frames, nectar cappe, more foundations
- before fall deminish room and extract honey.
- room for winter brood

if summer is good, i must extract several times from one hive.  however 2 times is necessary allways.

.

[T Beek]

Good advise from Finski.

During summer I go in about every 7-10 days or so, but not a "complete" inspection which is for 'problems' noticed only.  Once hives are wrapped I won't go back in until April or May except to
feed, which is easy and UN-disturbing to my bees because I feed in a separate box placed above inner covers.

Your bees will let you know if you've disturbed them too much 

[Finski]

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When beginners tell, what kind of hive they have, very seldom they are able to tell the number of brood frames. So they do not understand that brood is core of the hive.

If you have in one box 8 frames of brood, propably you have 3 boxes bees after 3 weeks.
If you have not those boxes, propably you have a good swarm.

In fall brood frames tell how much hive  need room for winter.
Even brood area/holes in brood combs tell quickly how healthy colony is.

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[luvin honey]

I only went in 3-4 times this entire year. It got hectic, but I also didn't accidentally kill my bees this year, so perhaps it's better when they're left alone.

I also don't medicate, so I go in to check that there's a queen/brood, to harvest for honey, or to check if they need feeding in the early and late season.

[BrentX]

My first couple of years I went in the hives every 7 to 10 days, and made ample notes.  Learned a great deal about the natural events in a hive, much like Finski describes.  I also spent time watching the bees come and go with out disturbing the hive.  I refer back to those notes comparing the current year to prior years. 

Now I go in much less often;  maybe once a month February through September, but more frequently to add boxes during the flow.  Complete Inspections are rare, but I do a quick check to verify the hive is strong and healthy in just a couple of minutes. Still keep notes. 

[edward]

Have fun  

To get to know and understand the hive, and how it works under a whole year takes a year or two  

It is interesting and fun to visit with your bees   (hopefully you have kind bees)  

After a while you will learn and understand what they are doing and the need to look inside beecomes less.

mvh edward  

[Finski]

 
year or two

it took me 7 years that no big surprises happened to me.

Afterwards varroa has arranged big surprices.

Aften 49 years waxmoth arranged to me in the storehouse the biggest disaster.

But this makes the hobby living and interesting.

One really big problem came when I got  huge yields during 2 years and.,....
All got in Finland. It was impossible to sell the honey.  So finally 1 ton old honey to dumping place.

There are guys who have never problem with their hives. But I have understood, that their yields are not big.

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[BlueBee]

You don’t want to wait so long that you find this 

[T Beek]

year or two

it took me 7 years that no big surprises happened to me.

Afterwards varroa has arranged big surprices.

Aften 49 years waxmoth arranged to me in the storehouse the biggest disaster.

But this makes the hobby living and interesting.

One really big problem came when I got  huge yields during 2 years and.,....
All got in Finland. It was impossible to sell the honey.  So finally 1 ton old honey to dumping place.

There are guys who have never problem with their hives. But I have understood, that their yields are not big.

.

Finski;  You 'dumped' a ton of honey because you couldn't sell it.  You know, honey doesn't go bad, right?  You must know w/ your experience.

[edward]

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference, don't dwell on the problems, fix them and move on.

If I look i 5 hives and they all look the same the other 65 will more than likely look the same to. 

Dumped a ton of honey  I want to at least have that in storage as a buffer for bad harvest years.

Instead of dumping you're honey you could have used it for winter feed or better still spring build up as long as there was no risk for foul brood contamination.

mvh edward