Weekly Check

[devdog108]

I am not sure what is still producing Nectar here in Ga, but in less than 2 weeks, my 1 and only hive in about 70% of the way drawning out the medium I added about 2 weeks ago. I just came back from there and I noticed they are working furiously. Currently they only have 1 deep and a medium for the brood chamber and bizzybee said thats about right for our climate. Last week I saw a couple of beetles for the very first time and to me that warranted an deep inspection> never saw them again, but never saw my queen either. Lots of eggs, larvae, so she was around, no biggie. Tonight she was in the upper medium. Now, I would have liked to pull a couple of frames in the lower deep, but since she was in the upper, I was a little skittish about taking the medium off so I could get down there. I was afraid of rolling her or something. Would you guys have done the same thing? as in left her in the medium and just closed it up? She hasn't begun to lay up top that I can see.......ANYONE???

[clarkfarm]

Even if the queen is in the box on top, seems like there would be no special danger to her if you lifted the box straight up and off and then placed it catty cornered on your upturned telescoping cover. She won't fly out the top as she will avoid the light and in the event she falls off a frame (this has never happened to me) she will be caught by the top.

Maybe I have misunderstood your concern. But when I go into my hives, I take off the upper boxes, stacking them up beside the hive and then inspect the bottom one on the hive first (or put xxx sugar on it or whatever I am doing). Then I inspect (or sugar dust) the upper boxes in turn after each is placed back on the hive. So I don't know at the time I move the boxes which box the queen is in or likely in. I have read some books that say to inspect a box while it is still on the hive and then remove it, but it seems to me that inspection or sugar dusting can really rile them up and it works better for me to keep each box calm until it is back on the hive and then inspect. Just my two cents. Hooray.

[devdog108]

You answered my question. I was just worried I'd do something not so smart and crush her. Yesterday she was in the middle of the frame, and putting it in the top cover would have worked well! Thanks!

Adam