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Thursday, April 29, 2010
Observing and Hive JournalingEach spring I find myself more and more being aware of the current
weather and what weather lies ahead and asking myself, “what are my bees' needs to build out to become established and
stay strong?” Thinking that we’re still on the cusp of the nectar flow, I’m constantly looking around to
see if there is plenty of pollen and nectar for my foragers to gather. What amounts of pollen and nectar will be available
come time the brood will be hatching, and is a pollen patty or continuous feeding in order?
Looking forward I continue to add my observations to my journal so I
can easily see how my colony is likely going to change. Recording what I observe in the hive and knowing the cycle of the
bee from the day the egg is laid helps assist me in forecasting what the colonies needs are going to be. My information not
only helps me track the past, but assists me in preparing for the future and what material I will need to have on hand. Being
able to review my notes gives me points of interest I might want to be reading up on to help me understand what am I seeing
and what I might want to ask another beekeeper about. In my first year I made a check list so I was reminded
to look for characteristics. Hive management is one of the major roles that has a learning curve.
Knowing the bees are constantly arranging the hive to meet their controlled atmosphere, I find
it not so important that I actually see the queen verses seeing signs that my queen is actively contributing.
7:08 pm edt
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