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The good news is if your brood is "mostly drone" you don't have a laying worker hive. If it were a laying worker hive the brood would be sporadic and all drone. I would let them go and consider...

I'm just starting to asses the market but I sell at $6.00 per pound. I understand there are beekeepers here who get up to $10 per pound for sourwood.

You're very welcome. I've used that math myself in the past and relied on it. This year I had a queen to go a full 7 weeks before she started laying so I know the bees don't read the same info that...

You did everything fine as long as the hive in question was truly hopelessly queenless. It's hard to tell from your post but how long has it been since your swarm? If it has been less than 5 weeks...

I have small "sugar ants" build nests between the telescoping and inner covers. Like you bosco the nest are complete with eggs. The easy fix is to sprinkle cinnamon powder all over the inner cover....

Status update - I went into the hive on Monday and lo and behold there were eggs. I looked a little deeper and saw her majesty herself. I couldn't believe that she took a little over 7 weeks to get...

Thanks NewJoe. I hope you are right. I'll go back in the hive tomorrow, check it, and hopefully that queen made it back to her hive.

This forum has been a great help in the past and thank you all for that. I have ran into something that I have never seen before and need some advice. The timeline is as follows:

April 6 - I...

I vote ultra breeze also.

I've done what you are planning and it went well. I would take the supers off and package them before dark. After dusk then, after the foragers come in for the night, you can close up the deeps. ...

If you freeze the frames you should also put them in a heavy trash bag when you take them out and seal it up as tight as you can to prevent condensation on the frames. Too much moisture will spoil...

I've never had a problem. You just have to keep an eye on the hives to see when you need to move to the larger opening or remove the reducer completely. To me they make sense for a small hive. ...

This is the only time of the year when I can find the queen - while the hive is still small. In another couple of weeks you can forget about it until the fall.

Welcome mlas. Glad to have you here.

MAQS in April, ApiStan in late July, and Oxalic acid dribble in late October. The Apistan in late July didn't do a thorough job which is why I had to do the late October treatment. I like MAQS in...

Thanks squarepeg and I did. I treated for varroa mites three times last year (three different kinds of treatments) - April, late July, and late October.

Well here is my report out. I started the winter with 6 hives and finished with 6 hives. One is very weak but looks like it will pull through. This was much better than last year when I went into...

Locally my mentor is the President of our Beekeeping club - a sharp man with a lot of practical knowledge. My Beesource mentor is definitely Oldtimer. I read everything he has to say and he's been...

I see now. I was wondering how you were getting those results in Virginia. Thanks for clarifying for me.

You're making splits in early January? That's impressive. We don't make splits until the first week of April here.

I just found this thread so I'm another latecomer. As of 10/1 I had 6 hives and as of today still do. I am a "treater" and treated for mites three times by three different methods in 2012. Good...

Either way you want to go is fine. It's a matter of preference. This time of year the bees will not bring in much anyway so a bottleneck at the entrance won't slow down production.

You are...

I use the wooden entrance reducers and choke them down to a 3/8" by 3" or so slot in August to curb robbing. After the first hard frost I'll turn this around to the small hole to keep the mice out. ...

RatLover,

What you describe sounds more like varroa. You can treat with MAQ's and in doing so you will treat for both mites at the same time.

Best of luck.

The most successful over-wintering beekeepers in my club don't test at all. They treat all hives once in the spring (before making splits) and again in the fall - no exceptions. The treatments vary...