The weather
on this day was very warm all the first half of the day, it was about + 20С.
The bees of all the families flew very well... The flights of the bees from E-1 beehive was
so strong, that it seemed like it was a flyby! In front of the porch constantly
hung a cloud of arriving and departing bees. Based on external signs, one could
say that families can get marketable honey in the spring. But is it...
From that
plants the bees collected nectar was not entirely clear. Dandelion bloomed, but
the willow ceased to bloom ... Gardens started to bloome only in the hot sunny
places.
We decided
to check, how the external impression corresponds to the real state of the
bees. Therefore, a detailed monitoring of the condition of all families was
carried out in order to obtain general information about each family. For this,
the following modes were used - General State Monitoring mode, Swarming Control
mode, Readiness for Honey Collection mode, and Brood Control mode. The
combination of these modes made it possible to understand the state of each
family and compare them with each other.
The family
in experimental hive E-1
The first
control was carried out at 11-30 in the midst of the work of bees. Monitoring of the general state showed, that
the family was in working condition, but there was a powerful signal of heating
of the nest in the daytime! This forced us to use Apivox Smart Monitor in
Swarming Control mode. Swarming control
showed, that the family is in the process of preparing for swarming. Powerful
heating of the entire hive suggests, that the bees are preparing space for the
queen in order she could lay eggs in the entire hive, including drone eggs on
the farthest from the nest frames.
Control in
the evening showed, that in the family still prevailing in-hive works, not
related to the processing of honey. There was an open brood heating too. The
monitoring in Readiness for Honey Collection mode confirmed the absence of
works on processing of honey. Check using Brood Control mode confirmed, that
there is an active heating of open brood. Moreover, the red graph is far from
the zero line, which indicates the predominance of this work in the hive.
Visual
control of the family with the dismantling of the nest showed the presence of
queen cups on frames 2 and 10 (a total quantity - 11 frames) and the presence
of drone eggs on the 11th frame. The queen was discovered on this frame too!
All signs of preparation for swarming, which should occur in about 2 weeks.
Thus,
instrumental control fully confirmed the real state of the family!
The family
in the hive 8-1
Daytime
monitoring of the state of the family and the possibility of swarming showed,
that the family is in working state. The work is strong and the the bees could
bringing honey.We could see some signals, telling us about processing of
honey. But in-hive works still prevails.
One can not think about swarming in the coming week. The arrows are far from the red zone ... The
device shows that swarming is unlikely.
Evening
control showed, that the set of works performed by bees has not changed. Only
the strength of these works decreased. Apparently part of the bees that worked
during the day, have a rest now ...
Control in the Readiness for Honey Collection mode
showed, that the state of the family is approximately borderline, and if there
will be good honey harvest, then the bees can get marketable honey, since it is
not too much in-hive works in the family, and most of the bees could work on
honey collection.
Check using
Brood Control mode showed, that the number of open brood is not too large. The
graph is near the zero line. With this amount and composition of brood,
swarming is really far away. In general, the composition of work in the family
and the composition of the brood confirm the testimony of the device, that the
swarming state is not yet expected.
The family
in the hive 5-1
The check
at day time was not very successful, since the bees were excited after we
destroyed the ants who wanted to create a nest in the hive insulation. This can
be seen in the screenshot. Most of the bees stopped working ... But in general,
the bees have working state, although
they are not very active,
Сontrol of
possibility of close swarming showed, that the probability of swarming is quite
low.
Evening
control confirmed the working condition of the family. Moreover, it can be
seen, that periodically the bees are ventilating beehive, removing moisture
from nectar. Moreover, according to the testimony of the device, with this work
are occupied most of the bees in this
hive. A check using Readiness for Honey Collection mode also speaks about this
... Periodic shift of the schedule to the white zone indicates, that there
exists work on honey processing. This means, that there is some excess of it,
which the bees will not eat, but will put in storage in a honeycombs.
Control of
the family using Brood Control mode
shows, that the number of open brood is insignificant. The graph, although red,
but it is near the zero line.
The
family in the hive 5-2
During
daytime, the family worked at honey collection, but not too actively. Most of
the bees were engaged in in-hive works. Swarming control showed a complete lack
of swarm probability. The evening data did not differ too much. The family is
in working condition, there are no jobs related to honey processing at all. The
family is not ready for honey collection. All the efforts are spent on the
family’s internal affairs.
The
family in the hive 8-2
In the
family 8-2 there is no queen. It contains one frame with brood and still have
capped and open queen cells. Therefore, in the daytime, the family worked very
actively on honey collection. The strength of the work is very high at the time
of measurement. But the graph in
Readiness for Honey Collection mode suggests, that this is a periodic
phenomenon as a whole, the graph indicates that the most of the bees are
occupied by in-hive works. Apparently, active work on honey procession
occurs sporadically.
In the
evening, the intensity of works decreased and in-hive works became the main .
At the same time, the brood care signal is strong enough. This always happens
in a family in which there are open and closed queen cells. They are
given special attention!
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