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Nothing wrong with high expectations. You gotta dream if you want your dreams to come true. Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In Southeast Missouri, our flow starts in late-April, then comes...

In theory, yes. You need to leave the strips in for 42 days, and if desired, an additional 14 days for a maximum of 56 days. If the cluster moves, you can reposition the strips anytime within this...

I paint mine whatever color is in the mistint rack at Sears and Lowes. There's high quality paint at bargain prices. My buddies lament my color choices (Pepto-bismal Pink is their favorite) and...

Hmmmm...why are you keeping bees? What is your purpose?

If you want honey, add more boxes with more frames to keep them from swarming. Pull several frames from the existing box and put them in...

If you have capped queen cells, I'm 99% sure the old queen has flown the coop...and you should be thankful for a large population left behind. You may still end up with a honey crop.

Option #1: ...

I mix syrup at 55 gallon batches. I fill the barrel to the middle between two rungs and turn my drum wrap heater on high until the water is steamy hot. Then I just pure in the sugar and stir with...

Left over honey will only attract robbers, which will probably only last a day anyway. Yes, old brood comb works really good. Actually, any box that has been previously occupied and has ample...

Several years ago, Hurrican Ike swung up through the gulf of Mexico, swept over Texas and blew right over the bootheel of Missouri. Dozens of stately old trees were wiped in the city of Cape...

Sorry, not a queen.

Grant
Jackson, MO https://www.createspace.com/4107714

I think I'd give thanks you only had three! Hood traps, beetle blasters all work good, but setting the hive in full sun is also a good idea.

Grant
Jackson, MO Want a method to gather free...

I use the Nicot system and love it. But...there are disadvantages and drawbacks that almost make me want to learn how to graft. Almost.

Nicot works for me, but the learning curve must be...

My hunch is the queen left with a swarm. Usually capped queen cells mean she's gone. But it sounds like you still have scads of bees, which makes me wonder. This is but another reason I'm kind of...

I've made nucs from my own hives, from my own raised queens in early August and had them survive the winters in SE Missouri. They were small and I sweated many sleepless nights when the temps...

Actually, I think this is the first "normal" year we've had in a decade, but in reality, I can only find "normal" on the washing machine in the basement.

I always judge swarming on the nectar...

I've used duragilt without any problems. When I've acquired old boxes of duragilt foundation from retiring beekeepers, some of the brittle wax has fallen away from the plastic. The bees WILL NOT...

It's like fishing. You put out the bait to see what you can catch, and if you can get a fish to jump into the boat rather than having to reel it in, so much the better.

But, like fishing,...

In the words of the old saint, George Imerie, bees don't need honey in the spring, they need nectar. I would say feed, unless you have fresh nectar coming in. If the weather is still cold and rainy...

No such things as a silly question. I use deadout hives in remote yards as swarm traps, baited with pheromone lures and old comb. I've had some swarms move into deadouts even before I could come...

I've had good success in placing traps in trees, 6 to 8 feet off the ground in sheltered areas like fence rows, small ravines, creeks...whatever seems to break the wind and give the traps some shade....

Personally, I'd prefer the nuc for many of the reasons already articulated.

However, this year, what's available? We hear rumors in SE Missouri that nucs are sold out. Package orders are delayed...

Not sure where to post this, but this forum has the most people logged in. Here in Missouri, we're looking for national level speakers for an upcoming conference this fall. Many of the big names...

Thanks, MB. Looking foward to seeing you in St. Louis on Saturday.

Your link shows a homemade box. What are your dimensions? Thickness of material? Stainless Steel?

If I was to have one...

I also buy a lot of mistint paint. Some as cheap as $2.99 a gallon at Sears. What I find in our neck of the woods is most of the mistint paint from late fall to early spring is interior grade...

Yep, lots of variables. In one yard, two hives render about 3 supers each, roughly 90 pounds a hive, the two right next door on the same hive stand didn't do squat. I need more hives like the first...

The space with a medium super doesn't make that much difference, for now. Bees don't heat the space like human beings, they heat the cluster. Still, some heat will be lost and wasted, but I don't...