Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
when. If you have several colonies, some notes will serve for all, but each colony, you
will learn, has its own distinct personality, requiring similar but different management
actions. At the beginning of the season, record the following for each colony:
• Queen source and/or package source
• Location, position (north-, south-, east-, or west-facing) of the colony, and registra-
tion papers and inspection reports if you have them
• Condition of equipment
Then, include the following notes about each visit:
• Weather and time of day
• Date
• What's blooming—you need to look around a bit for this, but the major common
plants are easy: dandelions, wild-flowers, flowering shrubs in your yard. These ma-
jor nectar-producing plants bloom about the same time each year, but you need to
learn when so you can prepare for honey flow time.
• Temperament of the colony—easy, busy, flighty, fussy, loud
• Depending on the time of year, note:
• Queen cups present
• Queen cells present
• Spotty brood pattern
• Number of eggs, open and sealed brood (1:2:4 ratio)
• Drones present
• Honey and pollen present
• Signs of pests or disease
• Physical condition of combs and other equipment
Then note what activities you performed, such as:
• Requeened (note the source and breed) and color of mark—always get marked
queens
• Fed, and how much
• Exchanged frame positions
• Removed old, black frames and added new frames (and where you got these, and
what did they cost? It's not a bad idea to write on new equipment where and when
you got it so you remember particularly bad or good suppliers.)
• Added brood or honey supers
• Couldn't find queen, or found a queen that shouldn't be there (your marked queen
is gone)
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