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Hope my comments weren't taken as whining. They were meant more as a weather report and how the multiple late freezes may have been responsible for no swarm calls this year. Actually Tenbears, being...

I often use "extra" frames of honey for new swarms, or hives that appear to need a boost. I wouldn't add them to a strong hive.

I agree with Luv2, I put swarms in a hive with frames, drawn if I have them but some with only foundation or blank frames with a starter since swarms are predisposed to start new comb asap. Often...

How many boxes do you have on this hive? If only one, sounds like you need to add another up top right now. Good that you scraped off the sideways comb. Don't worry about the drone comb. They'll...

I thought it would be a good spring with lots of wild flowers and a good spring honey crop because we got a few fall rains and more snow than usual. Then we got a hard late freeze that zapped all...

Since you didn't have any drawn frame, it would have been good to use a queen excluder on the bottom to keep the queen inside. If she can't get out they won't leave. Then feed sugar syrup for a...

If you put a queen excluder on the bottom entrance the workers can come and go but the queen can't get out so they won't leave. After about a week the queen will certainly have begun laying and you...

Replace with nucs and swarms.
I'd let the new bees clean out the deadouts.
If I could rule out disease, I wouldn't do anything to the equipment before using again. Chemical free.

Ok, so I am overwintering in four mediums. The bottom two are empty and the brood nest is in the third and bottom half of the frames in the forth box. I place an empty super with drawn frames on...

What I'd like for someone to tell me is whether or not the queen will move down to the bottom boxes and lay eggs there or will the hive swarm because the top two boxes are filled?

I typically overwinter in 3-4 mediums and every spring the bees are in the top or second box from the top and eggs and brood are always there. I've been reversing because the bottom two boxes are...

If you overwinter in three or four mediums would it impact whether or not reversing was appropriate?

Jamneff, if you are just starting then I'm guessing you don't have drawn frames. If you are getting bees in a package, you'll need to feed as soon as you get them to make sure they get off to a good...

this is very interesting and I'm interested if anyone knows whether the antibiotic activity is due to the pollen that might be in raw honey from these various sources or whether a manuka honey...

In 2006, A swarm landed in an apple box, stored on top of a wooden cabinet, on my back porch about a foot away from my back glass door. My wife and I watched and could see the new comb built in a...

I got everything ready for winter in late October and added some sugar just for insurance, althought I didn't think they'd need it since all had adequate stores and the hives were heavy. A guy who...

What part of TX are you moving to? Still warm/hot down in the valley but up here in the Panhandle it got down to around 20 F night before last. Warms up to mid 50-60s during he day now.

I use all mediums here in Amarillo, Tx and overwinter in 3 or 4, depending on bee population and how heavy the boxes are. Four, if the top two are full of honey are likely plenty. Good luck!

I've never done this before but today I killed a very aggressive hive today with soapwater. They were posing a threat to folks and I didn't want to wait to requeen. Will the honey in this hive pose...

Had to laugh at Mike's reply. I've been using the dashboard in my pickup for some time and it works great well into the fall and also in the early spring. Its a real drag though if you lay the...

thanks Rader. Where in the world did you find that reference? It always amazes me that folks on this forum can give good answers to some of the most obscure questions.

I got a call the other day about bees in a tree. I went over and there was a Post Oak with thousands of bees buzzing around in the canopy. They weren't swarming and there wasn't an obvious entrance...

Thanks to all for the replies. Charlie B. that is the video I was thinking about. I'll do this this weekend with the queen excluders between each box and then go back in two weeks and see where the...

I once saw a video about requeening an aggressive hive. It showed a technique of splitting the hive into individual sections/suppers to help find the queen and then they replaced her or merged the...

My wife got a call today from a guy in Spur, TX who has a "building full of bees". Apparently it is some sort of out building and they are in the wall. Are there any beeks on this site who are near...