So - major newbie mistake when i was taking the cover off one of my hives today.
One of the brood frames from right in the middle of the box was connected to the inner cover. As I pulled up the inner cover slowly I could tell it was connected because of the extra weight. I wasn't sure how to effectively remove that frame from the inner cover without lifting it up, so that's what I started to do. It came up with the inner cover, and I was slowly moving it so I could get at it, and suddenly it snapped off and the frame fell and landed smack down on my inverted top cover. I nearly cried. Most of the bees fell off it as well, onto the inner cover ... I was in a bit of a panic because I thought maybe the queen might be there, somewhere on the inverted outer cover (or in the grass eep) ... of course I couldn't see her anywhere. So I just picked the frame up, put it back in the box and continued with the inspection. I didn't see the queen again on any other frame, but then again there's a very good chance I just missed her (I wasn't spending much time looking for her as I didn't want to keep the hive open too long).
Anyway - i guess i'm wondering ... what's a good way to combat that scenario? How do other folks detach stuck frames (to inner covers) without wreaking havoc?
One of the brood frames from right in the middle of the box was connected to the inner cover. As I pulled up the inner cover slowly I could tell it was connected because of the extra weight. I wasn't sure how to effectively remove that frame from the inner cover without lifting it up, so that's what I started to do. It came up with the inner cover, and I was slowly moving it so I could get at it, and suddenly it snapped off and the frame fell and landed smack down on my inverted top cover. I nearly cried. Most of the bees fell off it as well, onto the inner cover ... I was in a bit of a panic because I thought maybe the queen might be there, somewhere on the inverted outer cover (or in the grass eep) ... of course I couldn't see her anywhere. So I just picked the frame up, put it back in the box and continued with the inspection. I didn't see the queen again on any other frame, but then again there's a very good chance I just missed her (I wasn't spending much time looking for her as I didn't want to keep the hive open too long).
Anyway - i guess i'm wondering ... what's a good way to combat that scenario? How do other folks detach stuck frames (to inner covers) without wreaking havoc?