working bees at night

[11x]

i was wondering if any one workes thier bees at night? was thinking it would give a better idea of how many bees are there cause all the workers are in. might be a bad idea but thought it might work?

[alpha6]

Bees can get very ticked if you go digging through the hive at night, but they can be worked. Your observation will not be as good because unless you want a big problem you will use a red light. If you have a white light they will zoom right for it...in mass. :doh:

[Gene Weitzel]

If you don't need to work them at night, don't. They can't see and they stick to anything they fly into. Also, the foragers are the oldest and most aggressive, so their presence in the hive adds to the discomfort. Because I work full time and have a fair number of hives, sometimes I must work them at night, typically it is not much fun, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Any light will attract them, red light does it the least. Nights with a bright moon are better because you can get by without a light, but its still not much fun.

[NasalSponge]

They get very angry when you disturb them at night.:no:

[11x]

thanks. just sitting here thinking about bees. man this is tough for a new beekeeper not to be able to dig into them every day and see whats up. i installed a 4 frame nuc on monday and cant wait a week or so to get in there.:waiting: thay are so freeking neat i am amased with them i wish i was a bee so i could go in and check it out. the only living about 30 days would suck though;)

[Gene Weitzel]

Here is a link to some photos I posted of a hive I cutout of a stack of tires. There is a photo of them I took one night the following summer when they had grown to a double deep with one super that shows what you can expect at night with a full strength hive. This hive has an upper entrance, during the day when the foragers are out, the entrance is completely visible:

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219588

[alpha6]

You don't need to wait a week. You can open it up and see whats going on. If you are gentle and work slowly the bees will just ignore you for the most part. Move the frames apart slowly and lift them out gently. Don't use a lot of smoke and if they are gentle and not being aggressive don't use any smoke at all with the nuc.

The best way to get to know how a hive is acting especially when you are new is to get into them. See if the queen is laying...how the brood pattern is...are they bringing in nectar and pollen? Do you need to feed?

Don't be afraid you will hurt them. Consider this your learning hive for future ones. Dig in there...its the only way to learn.

Goo0d Luck.

[indypartridge]

We just had a thread on that, and yes, some beeks do work at night:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228410

[franktrujillo]

Yes that is good news!I check once a week because didn't want to disturb them.so i built a odservation hive out of an old double pane window I can stick 18 deep frames in it 3 frames deep 46 " in height