Inspect Beehives and Assess Health
At 11:18 in
This Is Getting Ridiculous!
What happens here
The farmer performs a thorough inspection of his beehives. He lifts the metal top covers and examines the screen-bottom boards to assess the health and activity of each colony. He identifies thriving hives by observing significant honeycomb production and a large bee population. For these healthy hives, he notes the need to add more supers (extra boxes) to allow for increased honey storage. Conversely, he points out struggling hives by observing less activity, smaller bee populations, and even dead bees on the screen board, indicating potential issues. He briefly explains the function of pollen traps and the nutritional value of collected bee pollen.
Goal: Assess beehive health and identify needs for expansion or intervention.
Tools and materials
- Beehive BeeCastle — The primary structure containing the bee colony
- Metal Top Cover — Protecting the beehive and providing access for inspection
- Pollen Trap — Collecting bee pollen from the hive entrance
- Rock — Securing the top cover of the beehive
- Supers — Adding extra space to thriving hives for honey storage
- Bee Pollen N/A — Nutritional supplement collected from the hives