Hive inspections require focus, concentration and purpose. A beekeeper should never open a hive without a reason for doing so; each time the cover comes off of the hive the bees become distracted from their work and alarmed. Honeycomb that the bees, through hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, have perfected in its hexagonal form pops open or breaks as frames are moved around, undoing days of their work. The bees will scramble to assess the damage after the hive is closed up again and immediately go to work repairing and restoring order to their home.
My purpose(s) this weekend in checking on the bees was to 1) see if there was capped brood, which would let me know that the queen was still laying and in good health, and 2) estimate honey stores as we go into the colder fall/winter months. The goldenrod bloom is nearing its end, so nectar and pollen gathering will slow down over the coming week. Fortunately, two out of my three hives were bursting with honey and brood; I'm going to have to combine the third, weaker hive with one of these stronger two.
My purpose(s) this weekend in checking on the bees was to 1) see if there was capped brood, which would let me know that the queen was still laying and in good health, and 2) estimate honey stores as we go into the colder fall/winter months. The goldenrod bloom is nearing its end, so nectar and pollen gathering will slow down over the coming week. Fortunately, two out of my three hives were bursting with honey and brood; I'm going to have to combine the third, weaker hive with one of these stronger two.