Chapter 4 · Quiz

Chapter 4 Quiz: Getting Started

21 questions from lessons 24–30. Answer from memory first, then check the lesson if you're unsure. This quiz is for your own practice; nothing is graded.

Lesson 24: Choosing a Spot for Your Hives

  1. Why avoid putting hives in a low spot in the yard?
  2. Why tilt the hive slightly forward?
  3. Should you work a hive from the front or from the side and back?

Lesson 25: Four Ways to Get Bees

  1. Which way of getting bees has the lowest risk of bringing in pests and disease?
  2. Why are package colonies more likely to starve in their first year?
  3. Give two reasons to start with two colonies.

Lesson 26: Package Bees: Ordering and Installing

  1. Why remove only the cork from the candy end of the queen cage?
  2. What can happen to a queen if the package gets too cold?
  3. A week after the queen was released you find no eggs. What does that suggest?

Lesson 27: Nucleus Colonies (\"Nucs\")

  1. Why are nucs more at risk than packages in a hot vehicle?
  2. When you move nuc frames into your hive, how should you place them?
  3. Why shouldn't you leave a crowded nuc in its box for weeks?

Lesson 28: Buying Established Colonies: What to Check

  1. Name three things to check inside a colony before buying it.
  2. Why be suspicious of a colony in rotten, unpainted boxes?
  3. What's the first thing to do after you set a moved hive in place?

Lesson 29: Catching and Hiving a Swarm

  1. Why are swarms usually gentle?
  2. You shake a swarm into a box, but within minutes the bees all fly back to the branch. What happened?
  3. What's the difference between collecting a swarm and removing bees from a wall?

Lesson 30: The First Weeks with a New Colony

  1. Why does a new package colony get smaller before it starts growing?
  2. What's the sign it's time to add a second box?
  3. What should you do if there are no eggs a week after the queen was released?

Answers

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Printed in the next issue, or check them now if you've finished.

  1. Cold, damp air settles there in winter, and low ground can flood.
  2. So rainwater runs out the entrance instead of pooling inside.
  3. From the side or back, out of the bees' flight path.
  4. A package.
  5. They have to build all their comb, which uses energy that would otherwise become stored honey, so they need feeding.
  6. You can compare them to spot problems, and move brood or honey from the stronger to the weaker.
  7. So the workers release her slowly by eating the candy, giving them time to accept her; opening the other end would let her out immediately.
  8. Chilling can kill the sperm she has stored, so she fails early.
  9. The queen may be dead or failing and should be replaced right away.
  10. Nucs are sealed, and the crowded bees inside can't cool themselves, so they overheat and die.
  11. In the middle of the brood box, in the same order and facing the same way as in the nuc.
  12. Crowded nucs are stressed and tend to swarm.
  13. Any three of: calm, numerous bees; 9+ frames of comb per box; 5–6 frames of solid brood; food stores; eggs showing a laying queen; no signs of disease or pests.
  14. The condition of the equipment often reflects how well the bees have been cared for.
  15. Remove the entrance screen and straps and let the bees out.
  16. They have no home, brood or honey to defend (and they've filled up on honey).
  17. The queen didn't end up in the box; the bees returned to her.
  18. A swarm is a temporary cluster in the open; bees in a wall are an established colony with comb, which is a much bigger removal job.
  19. The package bees age and die before the first new workers emerge, about three weeks after the queen starts laying.
  20. The bees have drawn out most of the first box, about 7–8 of 10 frames.
  21. Suspect the queen is dead or failing and get a replacement queen right away.

★ = a topic on the Georgia Certified Beekeeper exam list.

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