Observing the Entrance
Arbeiten am Bienenstand
The shortest and most honest check in the beekeeping year: standing in front of the hive for a few minutes and watching, without opening anything.
The shortest and most honest check in the beekeeping year: standing in front of the hive for a few minutes and watching, without opening anything. You stand to the side of the hive so the flight traffic is not disturbed.
What matters: how many bees are flying, are they bringing in pollen, do they return purposefully? Pollen loads are a strong sign of open brood and thus of a laying queen. Bees fighting at the entrance mean robbing, fecal spots on the front of the hive point to an intestinal disease, dead bees with an extended proboscis point to a lack of food. Deformed wings are a warning sign of heavy varroa infestation. Black, hairless, trembling bees crawling around in front of the hive, on the other hand, point rather to Hairless Black Syndrome (Schwarzsucht), a separate viral disease.
Anyone comparing the colonies at an apiary spots anomalies immediately: the one colony flying noticeably less than its neighbors should be the first to be opened.