Spring inspection 2023

[Bob Wilson]

68 and sunny today. I am going to make my first inspection of the year, this afternoon. I am not going to take the top off the front entrance area. I will start in the back and remove lids, moving towards the entrance, just until I find the honey stores and make sure they have enough to eat.
I know the hives have queens, because entrance traffic has been steadily building the last few weeks.

[The15thMember]

The first inspection of the year is so exciting!  I'm probably a few weeks away myself.  I'm planning on starting to get the garage and apiary organized and ready for the new season today. 

[Bob Wilson]

15, I was fortunate to organize last October...nuc boxes built, new long hive built, frames stored, etc.
FIRST INSPECTION went well. One hive was light on honey, so I pulled a frame from the other, which had plenty and added it in. I leave a total of 12 frames in each of my long hives each winter. I pull out the old comb, the drone come, and any partial frames if I can, and leave them the cleanest, honey filled frames and broodnest, which is at the front entrance. 12 frames is enough for Georgia's winter. That's 35lbs or more of honey for wintering.

[Bob Wilson]

Two days from now I will reverse the hive.
By that, I mean that I will take any uneaten honey frames and move them to the front of the hive where the entrance is, and then the brood nest, and then the empty back of the hive. This will...
1. Relive congestion and a cramped brood nest.
2. Remove the honey barrier by putting it up front.
3. Give the queen access to the open/empty back of the hive and free her to expand the brood nest.
That's the lesson I learned last year.

[Bob Wilson]

2 more days, then I will expand the hive by adding some empty, foundationless frames on both sides of the brood nest. This will expand the hives to 15-17 frames, but they still have 13 or so frames worth of empty space at the back.