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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?
« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 07:39:28 pm »I'm trying to make some wise crack about how a 17 minute video is too long and I can't watch it at 1.5x speed, but nothing clever is coming to me. 
I think your inspection technique looks really great for a beginner. You are methodical, careful, keeping a mind on the bees as individuals, and all your movements are slow and deliberate. You kept all your frames in the same orientation after removing them, and you smoked them at the right time and in the right amount. And the bees responded by being calm and accommodating. Good job! I think you look like a natural.
It's hard to see on the camera, but I don't think that's a queen cell, it just looked like a drone cell in worker comb to me. Was the opening to the cell in question on the bottom of the cell? As in, was the cell vertically oriented instead of horizontally oriented? That is the distinction. There are some great pictures of queen cups in this article which may help confirm or deny your suspicions. https://blog.foxhoundbeecompany.com/what-is-a-queen-cup/
Just want to mention, although you probably know this, to keep a close mind on how fast they are drawing because you don't want them to expand up into that empty box with the syrup and start drawing comb in there. When I feed syrup, I just put the jar right onto the hole in the inner cover (and sometimes tape over the excess if the hole is large), which keeps the bees from accessing that empty box. I think the way you have it is fine, but be sure they have enough space or you could have a mess on your hands.
A little bit of a tip for the bees who were on the lid: if you give the top of the lid a stiff whack with your hand (making sure you don't smack any bees first, of course!), that can help to dislodge them. Generally a stiff shake is the way to get bees to release their grip on anything. Also, be careful turning frames all the way sideways or upsidedown in hot weather. Nothing here was a problem, but when it's warm and wax is soft and loaded with honey, it can be. Just something to keep in mind.
Lastly, just a tiny little point of correction, if you'll indulge me. There is no such word as "larvaes". Larvae is plural, larva is singular.
I think your inspection technique looks really great for a beginner. You are methodical, careful, keeping a mind on the bees as individuals, and all your movements are slow and deliberate. You kept all your frames in the same orientation after removing them, and you smoked them at the right time and in the right amount. And the bees responded by being calm and accommodating. Good job! I think you look like a natural.
It's hard to see on the camera, but I don't think that's a queen cell, it just looked like a drone cell in worker comb to me. Was the opening to the cell in question on the bottom of the cell? As in, was the cell vertically oriented instead of horizontally oriented? That is the distinction. There are some great pictures of queen cups in this article which may help confirm or deny your suspicions. https://blog.foxhoundbeecompany.com/what-is-a-queen-cup/
Just want to mention, although you probably know this, to keep a close mind on how fast they are drawing because you don't want them to expand up into that empty box with the syrup and start drawing comb in there. When I feed syrup, I just put the jar right onto the hole in the inner cover (and sometimes tape over the excess if the hole is large), which keeps the bees from accessing that empty box. I think the way you have it is fine, but be sure they have enough space or you could have a mess on your hands.
A little bit of a tip for the bees who were on the lid: if you give the top of the lid a stiff whack with your hand (making sure you don't smack any bees first, of course!), that can help to dislodge them. Generally a stiff shake is the way to get bees to release their grip on anything. Also, be careful turning frames all the way sideways or upsidedown in hot weather. Nothing here was a problem, but when it's warm and wax is soft and loaded with honey, it can be. Just something to keep in mind.
Lastly, just a tiny little point of correction, if you'll indulge me. There is no such word as "larvaes". Larvae is plural, larva is singular.
I heard an interview with someone with this organization or a similar one on the 2 Million Blossoms podcast. They are called Wild Survivors, and they work with farmers in Africa to put up bee fences around farmland to protect crops from elephants, plus the bees provide the farmers with an additional source of income. This also helps protect the elephants from poaching, because the farmers are often approached by poaching rings looking for elephants that are easy marks, and the farmers are usually willing to oblige because the elephants are a nuisance. If you've got the time, I'd highly recommend a listen, it was extremely interesting. 
