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Bees only covering 3 frames isn't very many bees. I'm in east central Iowa, and I have lots of capped brood so you would certainly have a laying queen by this time. Feed them, order a package if...

I would requeen. Check out OhioCountryBoy's video.
You want some entirely different genetics in play here--not the daughters from this queen. Bees chasing and stinging that far from the hive can...

Often the colony will make a new queen, but not always. I have one hive now that, unfortunately, I allowed to become honey bound. It had a great laying queen early this year, and though I cleared...

One day. Two stings, one on each ankle, right through relatively thick socks. I just wear a thin shirt and they don't seem to sting me through the shirt, unless I happen to accidentally trap one...

Were the supercedure cells empty? (Should have been by now.) New queens can take awhile to get their laying pattern down. Some never quite get it right and end up being replaced themselves. Give...

Good idea, flatfoot. Thanks.
I do have bifocals, but still have troubles, even with the sun behind them. Maybe a magnifying glass as well would help.

geebob, I wondered too if maybe I don't still have a queen who is just not functioning. When I first opened the hive a month ago, there were capped drone cells along the edges, where one would...

I have one hive that is queenless. 3 weeks ago I put in a frame from a strong, queenright hive (found the queen), then did the same the following week. Now two weeks have passed but still no...

Since you mentioned some mummified-looking brood, that would suggest chalkbrood, which, given the wet conditions you mentioned, could be a definite possibility. Check out Michael Bush's link on the...

Welcome to a fellow hawkeye (and from a native born Burlingtonian, though now living near Iowa City.) Ever have any questions, give a shout. I still get down that way regularly. Hope you enjoy...

Yes, unless you had a big mite problem or disease going into winter, you might come into spring with still fairly large numbers, and a split would certainly be in order. My problem last spring was...

I have a screened bottom board, with a pull-out tray. I pull it out regularly through the winter to look to see if they are feeding and how much, which I can tell by the lines of cappings on the...

The smell from the goldenrod can be very strong and sour. Ours is, and I tore mine apart two years in a row thinking I had AFB or the odor was coming from the wax worms I had under my bottom board. ...

I've used 3 mediums, 10 frames, and even with this size it can be a load lifting that full box off the top of a stack, particularly since I have them sitting on boards across concrete blocks, which...

I'll try to do that. I do know she used 3 wood pallets, building a kind of A-frame shelter for the hives and she has to dispose of all those as well. If she hasn't collected them by the time we get...

Thanks, Robo. I'll pass this along as well. Actually, I live in Iowa but we are currently on our way to upstate NY to see our daughter. Perhaps I'll get to go out and see some of her hives. She is...

Thanks. I sent this info on to my daughter. She MIGHT know what particular bee they are, since she ordered them. I don't know if hanta is a concern, but my guess is she has good access to that...

My daughter is doing research in upstate NY on pollination with various pollinators. As part of the work, she purchased and placed 40 bumble bee houses in the fields. Now, she needs to remove ...

For me, giving the bees space is pretty important. When there is a good flow on, it's incredible how quickly they can draw out comb, fill and cap it. Try to stay ahead of them. As for feeding,...

I will make sure there is no queen. I'm thinking of just introducing her into a nuc, with a couple frames of bees/honey and a couple drawn but empty frames, then check the other hives in a week. If...

I have two hives, one of which swarmed about 3 weeks ago. We were gone all last week so I wasn’t able to examine the hives until last weekend. In the hive that swarmed, I decided to let nature take...

Fantastic photos--love the one on the red boards.

I thought of that. Would I take a frame with at least one queen cell in the nuc, along with some honey and pollen? And would I leave the swarm cells alone in the original hive?
From their behavior...

We had our first swarm Saturday, which I was unable to capture. In looking at all the pros and cons of removing remaining queen cells, I've decided not to do that. However, would reducing the...

You should have at least a small hole opening at your bottom board. You could have the other holes plugged at this time, since heat/humidity is probably not an issue right now. Don't worry about...