Apiary Inspection
Arbeiten am Bienenstand
The winter walk-through of the apiary, without opening a colony.
The winter walk-through of the apiary, without opening a colony. Checked from the outside: Does the hive stand firm and dry, is the cover weighted down and storm-proof, is the entrance clear of dead bees and snow?
Every disturbance costs the winter cluster food and strains the rectum, so it stays at a look from the outside. The knocking and listening once customary is exactly such a disturbance and should remain the exception. Anyone who wants to know how the colony is sitting is better off sliding the debris board under the screened bottom board for a few days.
Also: check that the mouse guard sits properly, look for woodpecker damage, remove branches that knock against the hive and loose parts, and check immediately after storms. Carefully lifting the hive at the back edge gives a rough sense of the food stores, but it only becomes reliable with a scale and comparison values from previous years.