Hive Inspection Blunder..dooh

Hethen57 · May 31, 2009, 09:00:27 PM

Went to check one of my new package hives this afternoon and they have the second brood box 60% full, saw queen there, so she has moved up. Pulled a couple frames and everything looked good, so I went to pull the whole second brood box to get to the lower and as I lifted it up my assistant yelled "one is stuck" then a frame from the bottom box that was burr combed to a frame in the second box, pulled out and fell to the ground..scattering nurse bees. The frame was fine, but there is nearly a frame of nurse bees in the grass. I pulled another frame from the bottom and they had a bulb of drone comb hanging off of it..which become exposed when I pulled the frame. What should I be doing differently to prevent all this this bur combing...pulling every frame on the weekly or bi-weekly inspections?...leave it alone? Not a big deal, I'd just like to learn what I should be doing because it kills me to mess up their house, but if I let it get away from me, it seems like it will happen everytime I pull frames to check them and it could get out of hand. My bees are carnies, in double deeps.

PeeVee · May 31, 2009, 09:06:38 PM

First I must state that I'm just starting out !

I have read that when you lift the body off, give it a little twist to dislodge any connection with a lower body.

-Paul

Hethen57 · May 31, 2009, 09:12:41 PM

Thanks...that makes sense, I will definately do that from now on.

qa33010 · May 31, 2009, 09:37:04 PM

When you make that twist make sure the bottom box doesn't twist with it. I have had to be creative when I'm by myself. I've also walked away if it was too well stuck together to get some help.

Michael Bush · May 31, 2009, 09:45:41 PM

You may have to go down the line and pop the stuck ones loose. With practice you will feel the difference when a frame or two is stuck.

Kathyp · May 31, 2009, 09:46:08 PM

use your hive tool or a knife to separate the boxes before twisting.

Cockatoo · May 31, 2009, 09:49:45 PM

I did a super swap yesterday.
I had to use a home-wrecker bar to get the shallows apart!

Bee Happy · May 31, 2009, 10:49:51 PM

I had the same problem with one of mine; on my next inspection, I used the hive tool to carefully scrape the lower burr comb off the upper frames, one at a time (I'm careful not to squish the bees or get them pinched in the wax). The top brood super separated from the bottom super easily, then I was free to scrape the burr comb away from the tops of the lower frames.
they might burr comb them back together all over again, but in the meantime they are separated.

Hethen57 · June 01, 2009, 02:49:58 AM

It looks like the bees hang off the bottom of the first brood nest frames and build burr comb there ...I was wondering if a slat rack might help discourage that comb building under the bottom frames?

Also, how extensive should my weekly or bi weekly inspection be? (just see some eggs and larva and evaluate percentage of drawn comb, or inspect each frame?) It seems like if you try to avoid disrupting them, you might miss pulling a frame that is all burr combed and not clean it up, or you might miss a queen cell or something. How about bringing an extra deep and just swapping all the frames into it as you inspect, to see everything?
-Mike

RayMarler · June 01, 2009, 03:20:54 AM

I myself don't clean up the burr comb between the top and bottom boxes anymore. I used to, but stopped because the bees like it there, it gives thema comb ladder between boxes. If I clean it up, they spend the time and resources putting it back so I stopped scraping it off. Seems to me the bees like it and we mess them up by taking it all off every time we inspect. If I'm doing a full every frame inspection, I look thru the top box first, then lift it off and look thru the bottom. The process of lifting each frame from top box breaks the burr comb so when I lift off the box, no frames from the bottom will stick and lift. If I'm just checking thru a few frames, then it's break the seal with hive tool and slightly twist the top box with the bottom box braced with a knee so it don't twist as well. Using an empty box when checking thru a hive is a big help at times.

Brian D. Bray · June 01, 2009, 11:51:50 PM

You should insert the hive tool at all 4 corners of the box to help break the propolis, then twist it about a 1/8 of a turn before lifting the super off. Burr comb can give you that taste of honey before the harvest season. In the fall I don't worry about it as I consider it part of the winter stores.