Just to set the scene for others: Mary has a Warre hive, with external
cladding for extra insulation. When she says she opened the back, she means
she removed insulation to access windows.
Mary, bees don't generally put brood right next to walls or windows,
because these are cool, unless the brood combs are completely crammed. When
they do, it tends to be drones - these can tolerate lower temperatures and
are, frankly, more expendable. So do not worry that you cannot see brood
through a window.
Usually all the activity is at the centre of combs. If you can see ANY
honey through the windows that is a good sign.
My 3 occupied Warres are all in different states of development. One is
bursting with bees, another s building up very slowly. Like your hive, that
one did nothing yesterday - but today, which was warmer, they were flying
in small numbers. They may be a bit too small to survive, I am still
monitoring them. But what I notice is that their TOP box is where all the
activity is, through the window. When you say you saw 4 bees, was that in
the top box? I see a cluster about 2 fists big in mine and that is probably
an underestimate - I'm just seeing the edges of the combs through the
window.
If all the activity is in the top box, which is likely as heat rises and
brood need heat, don't take honey because that is where the brood is too.
Anyway, if you could let us know a bit more about what you see through each
window, we can give you more feedback.
I don't think I've ever taken honey from a Warre in Spring, just Autumn, so
that needs discussing (ie I would like input from Gareth!). It's probably
OK if the brood are in the 2nd box down, but they probably extend into the
top box too if they are numerous. It may be possible to harvest the OUTER
combs only from the top box. Depends what you see really.
Paul
On Sun, 18 Apr 2021 at 15:25, <maryevelynbaker@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There were no bees going in and out yesterday when I had a look. We had
guests so I didn’t look inside. Today I opened the back and saw four bees
through one of the windows. Thereseems to be some honey but I can’t see any
brood from the window end. There are some dead bees on the ground in front.
I don’t have a bee excluder. Can I extract the honey without?
Or should I give them some time to rally? It has been very cold when the
sun shines fitfully. Should I take the hive apart and look for brood cells?
I would hate to find some after disturbing them so much.
I would be grateful for advice.
Mary
