I went in today to steal some capped brood from one hive to give it to another and checkerboard that hive with another empty super. And to check the bottom deep for swarm cells, and to feed. After checking the top super for eggs and larva, I decided, the queen was not up there as I put an excluder on 3 days ago.
While swapping frames around and checkerboarding it seemed to be taking longer than it should and the bees started crawling all over the outside of all the supers and flying around me. In my mind it seemed to be too long and I totally forgot to check that bottom deep for swarm cells. I need to start taking a check list down there with me. :-\
Today I looked at 8 hives - with a written plan. Like you I sometimes am a victim of my own shortcomings. All last week as I sat in my car prior to going in and clocking on I went through my hive records. My hive records are a 5"x8" index card with the hive number wrote on top.
I write the date I went in and what I saw or didn't see. Also future recommendations; i.e., check for eggs 15 Sep 14.
When I went through the hives I had a game plan for those hives. The first two I was looking for a sign of a queen. I saw eggs & capped brood. I should have stopped but since they were small hives I wanted to see the queens and I did. Five of them I just wanted to see if they started fooling with the bottom super yet. One I was looking to see if they also had touched the additions. Then there's the last one, I'm still not sure if they have a queen. Very small population, no nothing, but the Q cells were ripped open from the side. I was thinking that she was in there and laying because I seen a lot more activity at the entrance. I'm thinking other bees are coming and going checking it out. I think I have 2 more weeks and then I'm spreading the resources of that hive amongst the small hives.
Point is, have a written plan for each one you pop the top on. I'm thinking about enlisting my wife as a note taker when I'm going through them. btw, I've just started doing this ;)
Nice plan Gary, I wish I had some help sometimes. My wife says she's allergic to them. I have been with her 22 years and never saw her get stung by anything, but she is allergic to everything it seems.
Sometimes I'm glad that nobody else is there, kind of "my time", also if a queen gets rolled, it will be my fault. There was a coworker who offered to come over as he is a beek also, but he never showed.
I will just have to have a check list written and in the correct order to do it. I'm still able to remember what each hive needs as I only have 3, but I see what you mean, with 8, maybe Ill just set up a video recorder and talk thru it as I inspect, when I have more to deal with.
Rookie, I actually have 17. On the first of March I split my package from Jun 2013, and it grew from there. Splits, 4 packages, swarms, cutouts, and more splits.
I mentioned the secretary work to my wife this evening, and she's not interested. I take my time fooling with my hives and she's got a ton of other things to do, so no problem.
That's excellent, I see how fast they grow as I started with 1 package this spring and now have 3, but the proof is in the overwinter, right. I actually missed a couple swarms from that package, because I was ignorant as what to do with supercedure cells.