First inspection a success!!

[ziffabeek]

What fun!  I had to borrow the veil and smoker from my friend because my stuff didnt' come in time, and of course the hardest part was lighting and keeping the smoker going!  I suited all up, but was having such trouble with the smoker that my boyfriend came out to help me - wearing just shorts.  He ended up staying for the whole inspection helping me take pictures and even handling the frames, and neither of us got stung once!  :-D  I told you I have the nicest bees EVER!!! I love them!

Of course I realize I have no idea what Im doing  :shock:!  And I feel horrible because as careful as I was, I still squished a few bees.  :'(

Anyway, here's the report, maybe ya'll can help me interpret?

My hive is 2 deep brood boxes having been a combined hive of a queened and queenless hives. 

Top box:

Frames 9+10 were barely touched, with just the beginning of drawn comb.  I broke one of the frames because I didn't unglue it enough and it tore the foundation and beginnings of the cell :(.  But I was able to puch the nail back in and withdraw it.
Frame 8 - thought it was stuck then realized it was just heavy!  Almost all honey, about 50-60% capped.
Frames 4-7  Brood in the center with capped honey on the top and sides.  Here we saw eggs (YAY) and larva (big and fat ones - too cool) and even what looked like 3 bees breaking out of cells!! Were they really birthing?  That is soo cool!
Frames 1-3  looked like honey, but the combs were all stuck together and bulging into each other and I was afraid to break them apart.  I tore a little bit of one pulling frame 4 (got just a lick of our honey! so delicious!) so I left them in place.  I'm assuming that they are mostly honey.

I was able to lift the reassembled box off but it was really heavy to me.  My boyfriend put it back and said he thought it was maybe 40-50 lbs.

Bottom box:
Frames 1+2 and 9+10 were just foundation, nothing else.
Frames 3-8 almost all brood with some that looked like pollen stores? (orangey brown granular waxy looking stuff filling a cell about 1/2 way).  I dont think I saw any honey, The cells were all pretty dark, I didn't see any eggs or larva, but there were a lot of capped cells.  We did see one weird thing, it was a completely formed bee that was translucent white, like the colore of a larva, in a cell but the cell was uncapped.  Really weird.

I didn't see the queen.  The bottom frames were thickly covered with bees and they formed these crazy chains as we seperated the frames, clinging for 2-3 inches across the breach before breaking apart.  The bees on the top frames were not as dense, but there were still alot.

Here are my questions (for those of you who have read this far in the novel! :)

1.  Do bees hatch out looking like bees (like the ones we saw in the top box)?  If so, what in the world was the uncapped white bee?
2. Should I switch the top box to the bottom to see if they'll fill those 4 empty frames in the bottom box with honey? I also ordered a medium super, would it be good or bad to add it at this point.
3.  Can ya'll please explain the pros or cons of the queen excluder or link to some info?  I see people saying don't ever use one, and some saying put one in, and I don't really understand.
4. I've been told the "flow" is over here in GA.  I still see the bees coming in with full pollen bags, and sometimes I see crazily flying bees without pollen bags, how can I tell if they are finding nectar?  There are lot's of flower gardens in my neighborhood with lots of flowers.  I also am not sure I understand which is more important - pollen or nectar?
5.  What does uncapped nectar look like?
6. What do drone cells look like? I don't think I saw any of those.

I'm going to start feeding them, cuz I'm worried about the bottom box not having any honey.

The bf took some good pictures of the top box, but then got all involved in the second and we didn't get any pictures of it :(.  I am going to be sure and have a notebook and camera ready next time.  I don't think I can post pictures yet anyway.

Sorry for the novel!! If anyone has the time or where-with-all to get through all of this, I'll be impressed and grateful!

I can't wait for my next inspection! that was soo much fun!

love,
ziffa

[iddee]

I think you did a fantastic job of inspecting the hive and reporting the results. Your hive seems to be in nearly perfect condition. If you want to do something to it, you could cut between the stuck frames in the top box and shape them for correction by the bees.

Other than that, don't touch anything. You just described the perfect hive for GA. in July.

Congratulations!

[Natalie]

The white bee that your are talking about is one that is underdeveloped, you probably accidentally uncapped it's cell and exposed her before she was finished transforming.
That is what they look like before they get their hair and such.

[asprince]

1.  Do bees hatch out looking like bees (like the ones we saw in the top box)?  If so, what in the world was the uncapped white bee?
Yes, but a little smaller. They serve as nurse bees until they get older.

2. Should I switch the top box to the bottom to see if they'll fill those 4 empty frames in the bottom box with honey? I also ordered a medium super, would it be good or bad to add it at this point.
No. They will draw and fill the other frames when needed. I would add the super when they start drawing and filling the last four frames.

3.  Can ya'll please explain the pros or cons of the queen excluder or link to some info?  I see people saying don't ever use one, and some saying put one in, and I don't really understand.
Do a search, you will find lots of opinions. I use them.

4. I've been told the "flow" is over here in GA.  I still see the bees coming in with full pollen bags, and sometimes I see crazily flying bees without pollen bags, how can I tell if they are finding nectar?  There are lot's of flower gardens in my neighborhood with lots of flowers.  I also am not sure I understand which is more important - pollen or nectar?
The main flow is over but you will have lots of mini flows before the fall flow. Pollen or nectar....both are important. Nectar is used to make honey for food. Pollen is required to feed brood.

5.  What does uncapped nectar look like?
Honey.

6. What do drone cells look like? I don't think I saw any of those.
Large brood cells. They will be raised above the other brood cells. They are usually on the bottom of the frame. they were probably some
there and you just did not notice.

I'm going to start feeding them, cuz I'm worried about the bottom box not having any honey.
I would not feed at this time. Your hive description sounds perfect.

Good luck,

Steve

PS Your BF is a brave man! He must think a lot of you to risk those bare legs!

[ziffabeek]

Thanks for the replies guys!  

I think you did a fantastic job of inspecting the hive and reporting the results.

Thanks idee!  I am actually quite proud of myself  :-D  I went really slow and remembered all that I had read.  When I saw the eggs I was soo happy!  I hope I can see the queen next time.

I wasn't really planning on getting into the bottom box, but it was going so well that I went for it.  I just can't get over how sweet my bees are.  Even when I messed up and scootched a frame to fast or too far, they just buzzed for a sec and then went back to being quiet.  I even adjusted some of the frames with my bare hands.  i know I shouldn't get too cocky about them, I'm sure I'll get stung sooner or later, but I still think they are just awesome.

I'm so happy that the hive is healthy.  I did see a couple of hive beetles, - maybe 4-6 total, and of course squished them.  Should I be worried about those?  I was told that you will always have a couple in GA, but I don't know how many indicates a problem. - edit - nevermind, I see that my question was answered in the small hive beetle thread. -/edit

Thanks again for the reviews guys! I'm really happy that the hive is in good shape, and I'm really happy to have found ya'll so that I can know that.  Otherwise I would have really been worried about the bottom box not having any honey and the bees being hungry and having some strange sort of strange albino-ism thing!! :?

On to more searching for "queen excluder" and reading and learning . . .  \

love,
ziffa

[annette]

Hello Ziffa

Nice to meet you and I wish you well with the new hobby.  I started beekeeping April 2006 and it has been quite an adventure for me. Started with one hive and now have four.  Seems like once you get comfortable with this, you just want more and more hives. I am even starting to think of having up to 6 by next year.

Couldn't have done it without the help of this forum

Stay in touch
Annette

[rast]

 Really happy for you.
Two things, a really sweet hive can turn defensive with age and growth, always at least have your veil on. Some of us old men have leathery skin and the bees stingers just bend :roll:, Iddee's belly for instance :-D.
Pollen coming in does not equate nectar coming in. My bees are currently bringing in Bahia grass pollen by the ton, but no nectar. I will start feeding here shortly.
Yes by all means study up on those excluders, but most of the time you need drawn comb above them for the bees to go through and work them.
Good luck

[shemer]

Man it`s a shame your pictures didn`t make it through... Report itself is excellent there is no doubt but with some photoshots attached it would have been even greater!