I Spy… Getting your eye in. 2025

I Spy….. Getting your eye in. 7th June 2025

Thanks to all those who came to this meeting and asked all the questions. We hope you benefited from the discussions and will put some of the hints and tips to good use in your own hives. As promised, I have duplicated the Task Sheet and put together some notes on possible answers / scenarios to act as prompts when you are working your own bees. There is also a down loadable PDF you can use.

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We will start with 20min – 1/2 hr chat to explain what this exercise is all about.
Normally, you would be divided into groups and allocated a hive to study plus an experienced beekeeper to guide you. The weather put paid to that!

In your own apiaries, follow the Task Sheet questions and make notes as you go if you wish. See if you can spot the situations mentioned and incorporate them into your routine. Please note, one thing that was not discussed at the meeting is the information gleaned from any bald brood found in the hive. See the notes in the table below.

Task Sheet (left hand column) and some possible observations or deductions (right hand column)

Before opening the hive

Observations/Deductions

Consult the hive record sheet, and consider recent weather conditions.
What can you predict from this information?

Two possible scenarios:
Record says low on stores, weather poor – MAY NEED TO FEED
Record says good stores, weather fine – MAY NEED TO ADD SUPER(S)

What is flowering now, and what will be flowering in next 7 days?
Implications?

Two possible scenarios:
Oil seed rape out now, will cease soon – BAD TEMPER!
Not much out at the moment, but nectar flow may start soon – watch SPACE in supers and ADD boxes in plenty of time.

Hive entrance activity?
Air temperature?
Pollen loads?
Drones?
Nectar loads?

10℃ minimum for bees to emerge.
Pollen loads easy to spot.
Drones, indicator of swarm possibility. Check in brood box.
Nectar loads, honey stomach full, legs hanging down.

Orientation flights?

Robber bees?
Asian hornets

Orientation flights, young bees first emergence. Characteristic flight pattern. Don’t confuse with swarm emergence.
Robber bees enter hive empty (legs up), and leave full (legs down).
Hawking behaviour

Examine varroa mesh floor.
Distribution of debris?
Mites?
Significance of dark cappings and/or white cappings in debris?
Count different coloured pollen loads.

Distribution/pattern shows where cluster is and what it is doing. Important to know when winter feeding.
Count mites and give average daily mite drop.
Dark cappings are from brood comb therefore bees emerging.
White cappings are from honey stores therefore bees actively using stores.

How many different pollen colours? 6 or more should give adequate nutritional diversity.

Antenna cleaning action at entrance.
Signs of:
a) Vairimorpha (Nosema)
b) ABPV
c) DWV


Fanning

Very rapid cleaning of antennae before flight.

a) Diarrhoea streaks
b) Shiny bees and quivering bees
c) Deformed wings

Nazanov gland not visible – fanning for temperature/humidity control
Nazanov gland open – colony has been disturbed.

After opening hive

Observations / Deductions?

First impression.
Crowded or uncrowded?
Space for queen to lay?

Does activity equate with what you saw at the entrance?

Should be space for queen to lay: do you see pollen blocking or solid stores?

Supers.
Do bees have enough space to process and store nectar / honey?
Are extra supers needed?

Space for workers to process nectar is 2-3 times space required to store honey.

Add new super under existing super or above? Discuss.

In brood chamber examine frames and note:
Brood in all stages (MUST see eggs)
Queen present?
How many drones? (a few, fair number, lots)
Queen cells or cups?
What is your assessment?

Everyone should see eggs!

Drone numbers may indicate likelihood of swarming.
Dry cups or cells are nothing to worry about at present. Only need to take action if cells are charged with royal jelly/larvae.

Shake bees off a frame and examine for disease. Look for:
– Perforated cappings,
– Sunken cappings,
– Larvae that ‘don’t look right’,
– Chalk brood,
– Deformed wings,
– Sac brood,
– Bald brood – a sign that bees may be uncapping brood to deal with varroa.

If you need a demo, ask the experienced beekeepers.
Check for queen before shaking.

Make sure you recognise the difference in bald brood from wax moth damage and uncapping varroa mites.

Images Courtesy The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Crown Copyright

Is the brood chamber filled with brace and burr comb or even drone brood stuck everywhere?
If so, what is going on?

Bees desperate for space will build drone comb anywhere.
Ideally, provide somewhere for them to lay drones from April onwards.
Discuss alternatives, half frame, drone foundation.

Maybe the bee space is wrong.

Inspect the brood laying pattern and interpret what is happening.

Irregular pattern could be:
– New queen still learning.
– Old queen fading.
– Disease or old comb.
– (Diploid drones)

Ratio of eggs : open brood : sealed brood.
Comment on findings.

Ideally, should be in ratio 1 : 2 : 4, but will vary with season, weather, forage, etc.

If no eggs, could be swarm preparations, dearth of forage, poor weather (or need new glasses!).

What is bee space in brood box?
What is bee space in supers?

Spacing for new foundation.

2 bee spaces on face of brood comb, 1 bee space under lugs and at sides.
1 bee space for supers.

Standard Hoffmann spacing is 35mm.

Thanks to the experienced beekeepers for their contribution to the discussions. Feedback on the session was positive.