Apiary Inspection - About 22 minutes Initial Opening - About 3 minutes Laying Worker - About 10 minutes Selecting one of these videos will open a new window or tab on your browser. The May monthly meeting of the
North West Arkansas Beekeepers Club was a field trip to the
SouthWest corner of the Prairie Grove Battlefield Park. The Hives
owned by the club president Tom Nichols were on the edge of an
Alfalfa field owned by Mr. John Hart. The location was near water
and presented an excellent “hands on” demonstration of a working
hive.
Mr. Aman Minick, the Regional
Inspector for the State Apiary Board conducted the invited
inspection of the 13 hives and 3 NUCs at that location. His
“how-to” and “what to look for” presentation gave the
members present, several valuable tips and tools to use when working
their hives.
Aman stated that in the order
of WHAT he always looks for….His methodology seeks out FoulBrood
as the number one “bad” event in any hive, followed thereafter
by Mites…then Hive Beetles. Additionally he demonstrated his
systematic approach to hive inspection and recommended that club
members, new or old, follow the same approach to each hive, each
time.
A final tip from Aman Minick
for all bee keepers was that if during any inspection, starting from
the end frames and working towards the center of the super or hive
body, when and IF brood cells with eggs (brood-comb) accompanied
with a “goodly” amount of honey-comb are discovered, and both
with good pattern development, close that hive ASAP…and continue
to the next hive.
A step-by-step “powdered
sugar” demonstration was conducted by Aman Minick whereby powdered
sugar is added to a sample of bees in a container, shook-up, and
then poured out onto a white or stainless pan whereby the mites IF
ANY could be seen. This particular inspection showed no mites to be
present, and in general his examination of all hives reflected
generally good healthy hives.
CONCLUSION: This Field Trip in
which 68 club members were present, to include family and friends
was a valuable, time spent well period for all those in attendance.
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