On the fence?

[mamapoppybee]

 So we are at a point we have loads of dandy lions, red buds blooming, loads of my fruiting trees have fruit setting, and i am near black locust flowers. I can see the buds of them turning white. I have not yet looked deep into my hive not wanting to completely take there blanket off. My numbers are looking good. I had to open there entry to a medium so I dont have bees bogging up at the door.  Should i take off blanket get a good look then tuck them back in just to be safe? We had a light frost 3 days ago. Really excited about nearing the locust flow this will be first colony to make it to this point!

[iddee]

Mid NC, I have removed entrance reducers, grafted queens, made up nucs. I think OK is equal enough to call it spring.

[apisbees]

Once the Dandelions and fruit trees are in bloom it is safe to unwrap them. bees can handle the cold nights. The bees are keeping the brood nest cluster area at 93 deg  this is done by the population of bees in the hive, more bees the larger the brood cluster ares. Whether the bees need to raise the temperature 20 deg or 70 deg doesn't effect the bees ability to do so.

[efmesch]

To me it sounds like you should take your first good opportunity to open the hive and examine what's going on inside----how are their honey reserves (with the flowering you describe that really shouldn't be a problem)? Is there enough room inside the hive for the brood the queen undoubtedly wants to get expanding?  Are the frames organized with the brood toward the center with available space (if any) toward the side walls)?  Are there "walls" of cells packed with pollen blocking the queen's ability to expand the brood nest? Does the floor need to be cleaned (a collection of cappings from opened honey cells can be an invitation for problems--a good hiding place for wax worms to develop)?  Are the brood patterns indicative of a top notch queen (if the brood is patchy it could mean that she is running out of steam) ? 

[mamapoppybee]

looks like tomorrow will be a less windy day and i can literally get to the bottom of things. From what i can see they are staying towards the middle of my second deep i do see capped honey but do not have a clue what miss queen is up to in that bottom. As for pollen i have been watching them move it in for days now all splendid colors.

[apisbees]

this is not directed towards you mamapoppybee but from some of the post lately there seems to be some that are hesitant to get in to their hives and do a good spring inspection. When this happens will depend on where the beekeeper lives and the conditions.
To all you hesitant beekeepers that are holding off going in to your colonies If the bees are flying searching for nectar and pollen and you see that they are bringing in pollen, then it is warm enough to go into your hives. With every week the the population is growing and it is easier to get use to working the hive when the population is smaller and as the population expands, so will your confidence.

[mamapoppybee]

so i had this happen last year took cover off  and things were going smooth till cold snap my bees had brood and would not re cluster lost whole hive impart adding to the nervousness i now how. So im thinking a check and then at most re wrap?

[apisbees]

You bring up a good point to ponder.It is not that the bees did not recluster but they clustered over the brood to protect it and with the cold spell the bees could not keep in contact with their stores.

[brooksbeefarm]

Like apis said, i've had that happen more times than i want to remember . This has been one of those years. Jack

[mamapoppybee]

So i made my way in today and here is what i found








 I look close and no sing of my marked queen who i remember having a dark bottom end we shall say. So looks to me they replaced her. Good laying pattern, pollen, capped honey, and i see them filling nectar.  Few hive beetles all ready but addressed with blasters. Any thoughts?

[apisbees]

Hi whats the hive set up, and in what condition is the colony in? (2 deep supers 10 frame, containing bees covering 8 frames with brood on 5 frames. Bees are actively storing fresh pollen and nectar, The cluster is in the top super, the bottom super is mostly empty with 7 empty frames for the queen to lay in.) It will give enough information to comment on and for others to compare it with what they are seeing in their hives. Also as you mentioned above the time of year your season You mentioned dandelions and fruit trees. Here i an a week to 10 days away from there. Only apricots are in flower and they are 2 weeks ahead of the cherries
From the 3 pictures and the description I would say they are doing well. But the more information you can provide The better the advice that can be provided to you by beekeepers that have experienced what you are seeing in the hive.
Looking forward to your updated report.

[efmesch]

From Pics 1 & 2 it looks like you've got a good queen.  The empty cell located one bee distance south east of the queen look like it was recently vacated so, I will try to deduce that the queen is busy laying on a frame that has been readied for her by the bees.
Picture number 3 seems to be of last year's honey (by the way the cappings are pressed onto the honey) so I would inferr that you have no problem with reserves.  To make any deductions from pic #3, one would have to know just where in the hive it was located.
If you systematically answer Apis's questions, a lot more could be said.

I'm in full agreement with Apis: "From the 3 pictures and the description I would say they are doing well. But the more information you can provide The better the advice that can be provided to you by beekeepers that have experienced what you are seeing in the hive."

[Bakersdozen]

and i am near black locust flowers. I can see the buds of them turning white.

Black Locust??  I am jealous.  That makes excellent honey.  About the time it blooms, we get a storm and destroys the blooms up here. 

[mamapoppybee]

In my bottom deep I have them filling frames on two ouster sides. The frames next two those seem to have a little honey ,pollen, and refilling nectar. The three most central have colony brood and laying queen. My hives is a 8 frame with two deeps and one medium. The second deep is 4 frames food stores. Other four frames are drawn and a starting t poo receive refills in nectar. My medium is mostly drawn frame  with two frames that have like 7 little honey combs capped. Lots of bees in both deeps and am seeing some on mediums.

[apisbees]

Thanks This is a description that tells me a lot. ! The bees were over fed last fall or not enough honey was extracted if not much feeding was done. The hive is becoming honey bound. What are your plans for this year?make splits go up to 2,3 or 4 hives? In the next 3 to 4 weeks the bees are going to get compacted and are going to want to swarm. I would prepare to split the hive. first I would pull 1/2 the honey frames Only 2 at a time and give the bees comb of foundation to draw and this will give the queen more room to lay in. I would put these frames next to the brood frames. When you get the brood nest expanded to 10 frames of brood or you see the bees are building swarm cells which ever comes first, divide the colony.
This hive will swarm\divide itself this year, It is up to you whether it is on your terms or theirs.

[mamapoppybee]

ok so i did not get pics of this one frame but it had what i thought was the queen cell that the new lady came from towards the middle lower right of frame.  Then when you go towards more middle left there is a rounded cup. It is not Elongated like the other would these be their begging plans to swarm?

[mamapoppybee]

also i think i have drawn frames from last seasons extraction in my freezer should i thaw these and swap in place of honey loaded ones?
plus i have 8 frame set up. So expanding to 10 frames of brood wont work for me lol if  i am understanding you correctly.

[apisbees]

bees will always have a few cups in the hive as long as you do not see eggs or larva in them then all is well.
the 10 frames of brood will be 5-6 frames in the bottom super and 4-5 in the 2nd brood super. try to get the bees to place the honey in the honey super above the 2nd brood chamber by having it on the hive for the bees to store the nectar in.
Are you planning for a 2nd hive? there are advantages to this It gives you a comparison between the two. It is available to provide resources to the other colony if needed. overwintering If you happen to loose one colony 50% loss you still have the bees to replace the colony with out having the expense of buying more bees.

[mamapoppybee]

Ok all i seem to have a few good drone numbers and am noticing lots of capped drone brood.  My queen seems to be laying in that bottom box and not yet moved to the top.  Her laying pattern in the bottom looks really good to me I moved frames the workers were putting nectar into from bottom deep to second deep and gave her some more drawn comb to work with in its place. I hope I am doing right thus far.

[efmesch]

Option #1.
Try to move the sealed (and unsealed) drone brood to the upper super, keeping them in the center, over the area where the bottom brood nest has brood.  They'll be kept warm and complete development.  When they emerge, they'll be out of the way and the queen should stay below and won't lay new drone eggs in the vacated drone-sized cells.  Higher up, the bees will be able to fill the empty cells with honey.

Option #2
Scrape open the drone cells (thereby killing them).  The bees will clean out the cells and you won't have an unneeded large population of drones for the hive to take care of.  Often, a large number of drones in a hive at this time of year will inspire the family into swarming mode.  By reducing the number of drones in the hive you will help reduce this liklihood (but it is not the only  nor the best means for swarm prevention).

Option #3
From your description of the flowering situation, the bees should be in prime form for building new combs.  You could remove the drone comb from the hive and replace it with frames of worker foundation for the bees to build.  Keeping them busy building, combined with the added space in the hive, reduces crowding and also contributes (slightly) to reducing the swarming instinct. The foundation frames should be placed on the outer flanks of the brood nest.  If the weather is really warm and the hive populous, you might even place a frame for building in the center of the brood nest,  This move requires caution---if conditions aren't just right, it could lead to chilled brood on the outer sides of the brood nest.