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I really only have weekends so I try to check weekly. If something like bad weather or travel plans don't allow me to inspect, I make very sure not to go more than two weeks. If I had complete...

I don't understand why some people feel the need to be so combative in forums like this. This can be a great place to share information and opinions. I placed the words "stick resistant" in quotes...

Is it just a comb drawing difference or are the queens generating different amounts of brood?

You can donate frames of brood from the busier hive but that may just mask the fact that you have a...

You might also try disposable, nitrile gloves. They are "stick resistant" for needles and such in medical applications. They fit closely so you still have excellent dexterity. I would not say they...

There is a lot of information in the forum about doing splits if you do a search. Not much to it... You just need the additional equipment and a place for a second hive. They will make a new queen...

The brood box (usually bottom) is the most important place to look at least every 10 days. You are looking for disease, signs of swarm prep, evidence of a productive queen...

I usually un-stack...

Your question is a little hard to follow. You referred to an empty hive, and then it was an orphan (queenless?), and now it's doing well.

What is the back-story on that colony? ...winter...

I have heard that the first year using deeps for honey supers is a good idea, so I just added my first super on top of my brood chamber and queen excluder.

You're not really using the deep for a...

They have plenty of resources in the hive to get by on for that length of time. They may consume some nectar that you were hoping to have as surplus honey for your harvest but it is theirs first.
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You don't have to kill the queen but if you want to create an "artificial swarm" you should move the queen to one of the new hives rather than leave her in the old hive with the swarm cells and in...

I would bet that there's a queen in the process of getting mated and starting to lay and you will find eggs and larvae soon. One way to find out is to give the hive you think may be queenless a...

when replacing frames you should always have at least one fram out of the box to create some extra space. When you put one back, slide it down slowly against the neighboring frame on one side. THis...

It was done with one stacked set of blades that is elevated above the surface of the table by maybe a half inch. Each side is lowerd onto the blade just once and then lifted right back off so that...

There is another way I saw on this site. I have done it once and will describe briefly but search the topic to see what else you find.

Clamp lengths of 2x4 on each side and parallel to the blade...

The queens need some open comb to lay in. Probably best if you could contribute some drawn frames with open comb from your booming hives. Maybe pull two frames each from the other hives where most...

Hard to say without a picture but I have seen some pretty strange looking clusters of drone cells from a laying worker that might be described that way...

I agree about the hive top feeders. I have one and I only use it when I am going to feed pretty heavily and I can leave it on and manage the syrup down to almost nothing before I want to go inside....

I saw lots of eggs. Don't know how to age the eggs but with that many I have to think that some were one day eggs. With a queen cell that well drawn and on the verge of being capped it is at about...

Try saying that ten times, fast...

I have a colony that looked great on my inspection today. Didn't see the 1 year old queen but good number of eggs and brood in nice patterns. I found a lone...

Sounds like you have a top feeder that is just an open pool of syrup once the bees get up into it. A top feeder should have a screen or shield that only allows the bees to access a small area and...

If they're in a place where you can leave the box until evening, that is what I would do. Close it up tight and move it after dark.

Feed if you're putting them on foundation. If you have drawn...

Don't put on another super until the uppermost box on the hive has 7 or 8 frames fully drawn. If the bees can choose to go up they will do that instead of going out. THey will draw comb on the...

If you are feeding while there is a flow on and you have your surplus honey supers on, your bees are putting the sugar syrup into those frames that you are taking. You need to stop feeding the syrup...

The workers will build larger cells along the perimeter of the frames or maybe between boxes where they find space. A queen will measure the size of the cell with her front pair of legs and know...

I usually scrape all of the burr and brace comb that I can during an inspection. If you don't, they'll make more that can make removing and replacing frame hard. They'll also put nectar into the...