Part 7: First Year Bee Colony Management

Once you get bee colonies, what do you do? Become familiar with your new bees and watch them make themselves a home! Learn how to inspect a hive and what you should look for when opening that lid. At the end of the season, prepare your colonies for winter. 0:00 – Managing your colony 1:09 – Lighting your smoker 1:56 – Before you open your hive 2:53 – Opening a hive 3:11 – Examining frames 10:46 – What do you look for? 11:33 – Evaluating the queen 12:33 – Evaluating the brood 20:22 – Evaluating the space in the brood nest 21:16 – Evaluating worker bee health 21:57 – Assessing the colony’s food supplies 23:28 - Assessing the colony’s space for food 24:32 – The honey flow 26:29 – Honey and moisture 31:40 – The nectar dearth 32:08 – Water for honey bees 34:28 – Fall beekeeping 35:18 – Bitterweeds 36:55 – Goldenrod 38:00 – Drone eviction 38:54 – Assessing pests 39:34 – Preparing hives for winter 41:10 – Installing mouse guards 43:44 – Winter in the bee hive 47:22 – Winter for the beekeeper 48:04 – Record keeping For more information on Bee Keeping, visit: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/bees For a printable handout, visit: https://uaex.uada.edu/bee-class#handouts #Arkansas #Extension #HoneyBee