Hi all,
Thanks for your help in previous posts about my work with my first hive. As you might recall, I caught a swarm last year off a birdhouse. It didn’t stay because I was a rookie and didn’t know what I was doing and also it was just a mile away from my house, so that didn’t work because they knew the neighborhood.
In February, I caught a swarm out of the attic in the same property. They didn’t stay more than a week because they also were about a mile from their previously known home. I forgot to mention that I live in Rwanda and this time, I got some help from a traditional beekeeper. (Most Rwandan beekeepers keep hives in log hives. All of these are steps are detailed in the video (including info about ‘the bee whisperer’) I made here:
I’m hoping for honey within a year or so (no rush, it’s about the bees!), but am curious about my first inspection. I’ve had them at my property for two weeks. The hive appears strong–even as recently as this morning when many bees were coming and going in the bright sunshine bringing back pollen. Now is the long rainy season in Rwanda–which doesn’t mean monsoons, just a couple of hours of rain each day and everything blooming.
My question to this forum: How long should I wait for my first inspection?
My beekeeping friend here in Rwanda suggested that we not do it until the end of May (which will be 2 months after the bees were brought to my property), but do I want to wait that long? I’m biased toward inaction, though, because I know inspecting a hive won’t help (and likely hurts) the bees. The rainy season will be over then, though, and the dryer season will start–with intermittent rain.
I’ll be out of town from mid-June until mid-August, so I’ve asked my beekeeping buddy to inspect them once while I’m gone, or at least to come by and keep an eye on them. I’m anxious to inspect and see inside and not have the wrong time to put on a super.