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Meanness is a natural trait in "survivor bees". Your new queen will mate with local stock. Chances are excellent that they will be as mean or even meaner. By the time you know for sure the honeyflow...

Tucker, opinion will vary widely on this issue. The migratory guys have several hives on a pallet, so it is not critical. I am a hobbyist. I never move mine. Space is not a problem for me. I like...

Beeup, the bees naturally move UPWARD in the hive. To empty a super you put it on the bottom board. They will move up any honey ( gradually ). You are running out of time in Mich. They won't do...

Personally, I would use all shallows before all deeps. I'm 5'2", 130 lbs, 67 years old. You may change your mind when you jurk-up on a deep full of honey. You are doing the right thing by only having...

Sounds like they swarmed to me. You will probably find brood in the next ten-or-so days. There are at least two threats if you just let them do their thing. They may not be able to defend all the...

I'm at 1800 feet on the Cumberland Plateau. I made a super of sourwood even tho they were not up to full strength. It was hot & dry mid-May until mid-June, then we got several good showers. Sourwood...

Sounds like "day-flights" to me. They do this more when there is no honeyflow on. It is quite dramatic and beginners are often alarmed by day-flights. Most bees are on their "August recess" right now...

I TOTALLY AGREE, olddrown. Feral bees revert to their natural HOT nature fairly fast ( obviously, it varies from hive to hive ). There is no reason to put-up with HOT bees if you don't like them. If...

Acebird, an August "recess" is normal for bees as well as legislators. All stinging insects become more aggressive as the year progresses. I let some hornets build on the eaves of the house many...

May I add some to your list Dee ? Robbers are fierce ! They don't seem to get over it. Long after the robbing has ceased they will pop you for no apparent reason. I NEVER let my bees rob-out ( in the...

Fax me your swarm.

Swap you my two-year-old queens for your swarms. My experience is that it is hard to stop a two-year-old queen from swarming because you are fighting the reproductive nature of the honey bee. Yes. I...

I like your thinking Michael ! Currently I am using unconventional equipment. My 9 comb bars ( frameless ) are 14 inches long ( somewhat shorter than Langstroth ). My supers are almost square. They...

Your point is well taken Batman. Using only one deep for brood is like putting a restrictor plate on a carbueretor. You are preventing the queen from reaching her full potential. I believe you are...

Why would you have a feeder on them at this time of year ? They should make it fine on their own. Your queen needs two deeps ( or three mediums ) to lay at her full potential. They will gradually...

If they have that much honey WHY would you feed them at all ? It is normal for the queen to lay higher in the brood nest. If the lower super is mostly empty comb, reverse the supers. The bees know...

Have you tried Walter T Kelley Co. 1-800-233-2899. They will likely have Italians, as well as others. I have been very happy with mine.

Rookie beeks, BE WARE. You cannot handle honey out-of-doors during the daytime ! ! ! I used to extract on an open porch - AT NIGHT. That works fine if you clean-up well. I hosed the porch down and...

Ryan, there is a good market for your bees wax. I just saw a blurb on TV about them making a "dust" out of bees wax to neutralize oil spills. using space-age technology. It soaks up the oil, then the...

You should take the excluder off. If there is no honeyflow you are wasting your time spraying with sugar water. You might try pulling #4 and #6 frame out of the brood nest, into the honey super (...

I'm north of Chattanooga, on the Cumberland Plateau @1800 ft. Last year sourwood was finished by 1 July. This year the bloom is heavy and they are in mid-bloom ( 10 July ). We had some drouth in...

You are correct Corvair. I re-read p-man's posts and didn't see any mention of mid or shallow supers. I am a strong advocate of only using one size of frame for that very reason.

It is the nature of bees to swarm. Giving plenty of space ( like 2 deeps, or a deep and 2 shallows - or BETTER - 3 mids ) only removes one incintive to swarming. I try to requeen before the honeyflow...

Bees only draw comb when they NEED it. They rarely plan ahead. Usually they must be gorged with nectar with no place to put it. Obviously, they only draw comb during a honeyflow. If your honeyflow is...

I strongly disagree with this romantic notion that "survivor bees" are necessarily SUPER BEES. It has been my experience that "raise your own" queens are often pretty hot. Some people like mean bees....