1st inspection this season
Well i just did a short inspection and all seems to be fine. In fact it was great!
I now believe i have Carnis, Russians, or a hybrid of the 2. My inspection was before any were flying, only about 45 degrees. a bit of smoke and they were clam as can bee (some were still cleaning the sleepers from their eyes even 
). While there didnt seem to be a HUGE number of bees, there are plenty, and everything looked and smelled fine.
I was really suprised at how heavy the top deep box was still. Most of the sugar i had left them (if not all) was still on top the frames(mountain camp method), and after cleaning that off, i'd guess there was at least 60lb of honey left in it.
Given their temprment, size of the cluster (kinda small from what i had thought it would bee) and the fact they didnt consume huge amounts of stores over the winter, im thinking russians/carnis.
I didnt pull many frames, just 2 in the top box. the first was capped honey both sides, and the second i took from the center of the box had a good number of bees on it 
.
In the lower box is where most of the girls were hanging out, spread mostly over the 6 center frames. I didnt pull any frames from that box because of the coolness, and tons of them were peeking at me over the top bars as if i were some alien invader.
Im thinking that first dandelion is a good time to add the excluder, and a super or 2, or 3 or 4
Should i start feeding 1:1 now for brood buildup, or is it a bit too early yet here in NEPA?
Last edited by Barry; 03-18-2009 at 07:04 PM.
A beekeeper is not what I am, it's what I aspire to become.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks