Bee Wednesday Ep. 12: The Time I Dropped a Frame! 🐝 Drop Disasters & Queen Spotting

Welcome back to another Bee Wednesday! 🐝

Every week, I love diving into the hive to check on the girls, see how their honey stores are building up, and make sure our queen is laying strong. But as any beekeeper will tell you, working with living creatures and heavy frames means you’ve always got to be ready for the unexpected!

In today’s episode, we had a little bit of everything: beautiful capped brood, fresh nectar, drone births, queen cups, and… the moment every amateur beekeeper dreads. Yes, I dropped a frame!

Check out the full episode below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAIKmoWFVrE

Highlights From This Hive Inspection

Here are a few awesome (and eventful!) moments from today’s inspection:

Baby Drones Emerging! We got to watch a baby drone bee chew his way out of a cell and be born right on camera! Drones are the larger male bees in the hive—they don’t have stingers, and their main job is mating with queens from other colonies.
Queen Spotting (She’s Got a Green Dot!): After pulling several frames packed with capped honey and capped brood, we spotted our queen strolling across the comb with her bright green dot.
Two Queen Cups Found: The colony was feeling ambitious! We found two queen’s cups built out on the comb, which usually means the bees are thinking about swarming or replacing the queen. I made sure to clean those up to keep the hive focused and balanced.
The Frame Drop: It was a super heavy frame packed with honey and thousands of bees… and my grip slipped. It went straight down into the hive box with a loud thud! The bees were definitely startled (and honestly, so was I!), but thankfully nobody was hurt, and after a little gentle smoke, we got everything straightened back up safely.

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What To Do If You Drop a Frame During an Inspection

If you’re a beginner or fellow hobbyist beekeeper and drop a frame, don’t panic! Here’s my quick routine for recovering:

Stay Calm & Take a Breath: Bees pick up on sudden, jerky movements and frantic energy.
Apply Gentle Smoke: A quick puff of smoke helps calm the excited bees and distracts them while you reorganize.
Inspect for Damage: Carefully lift the frame and make sure it hasn’t crushed the comb or trapped the queen beneath it.
Reposition & Close Gently: Put the frame securely back in place and ensure proper frame spacing before closing up the box.

Happy Beekeeping!