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
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