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Some of the bees may drift to the other queen right colonies, but you can always move frames of brood around later and equalize if there seems to be a significant loss of population. You should be OK...

In your case it would probably be a complete waste of time to count mites. Your colonies are either going to survive or crash, if you count mites or not. Counting mites, other than for informational...

When Dandelion bloom starts up I like to inspect every week if possible and perform any frame manipulation to reduce the swarming impulse, until we are past the reproductive swarm season. In a three...

Bees are programmed to swarm in early spring. It's a natural cycle to reproduce and sustain the species. Our task as beekeepers is to interrupt their normal reproductive cycle to benefit our needs....

They should be fine. I would install the packages late evening and let them get settled in overnight. They will take orientation flights in the following days and get locked in on their own colony....

I agree with psfred as well. August is a critical month. In our zone this is when the mite population usually peaks. If you need to treat this is a very good time for it so you have clean healthy...

Welcome to the world of beekeeping Sarah!

No, the rope does not block the holes in the tray. But I've never had much of a problem with losing many bees inside the feeder.

If you are having a problem with too many bees getting inside the...

Swarms are a mixture of different aged bees, but from my observations it appears that a majority of the bees in a swarm are young bees. It makes logical, natural sense. A swarm setting up in a new...

Agreed. If you have a few drawn deep frames put them all directly above the center of the brood nest in the bottom box with foundation on either side. If there are enough brood frames in the lower...

If you are not going to extract right away after removing honey frames from your hives then it might make sense to freeze frames to kill off any SHB larvae or beetles that may be hiding in the frames.

If there are enough bees to cover the opening created with an empty frame placed between 2 frames of capped brood then you're ok. You don't want to do too many too quickly or you will run into...

Next inspection move one or two of those partial or empty frames in between full frames of capped brood.

The best timing for AO dribble is in early winter when the colony is broodless, and should be applied to bees that are at least loosely clustered. It will still work if you dribble in the spring, but...

How fitting.:(
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Check with your local inspector and find out who sells nucs in your area. Maybe he can recommend a local reputable beekeeper who can hook you up...

A strong colony treated without supers on will have things cleaned up in a day or two.

Yes, in the heat of the summer you should use caution when handling the frames. If the comb is not attached well on the sides and bottom, and the summer heat has the wax softened up, don't hold the...

In one of the pics it appears there is fishing line in an X pattern through the frame. I use fishing line with foundationless to provide extra support. It's not necessary, but helps if the comb is...

Should be fine to leave it on until tomorrow. Do a quick check to see if there may be any eggs in the comb yet. If so then you have a mated queen. But then again, if she's laying they are probably...

I would remove the queen excluder just in case you have a virgin queen in there from an afterswarm. She will need to get out to mate.

1.) Not fully understanding seasonal changes throughout the year and the corresponding shifts in colony goals and behavior. I experienced swarming frustration, lost a lot of honey production, and was...

If you are starting your packages on foundation then plan to feed syrup for a while after you install them. The main flow in your area will probably be starting up at about the same time you install...

I think it was too early to open up the broodnest that aggressively. Not sure if you started this colony a month ago with a nuc or package, drawn comb or foundation, but either way it's likely that...

I guess it depends on your interpretation of "smoking the bees". Over use of the smoker can't be good for the colony. A little smoke goes a long way. I always have a smoker lit if I'm going to pop...

The bees will be much more likely to feed from the baggie than to venture out from the cluster to an entrance feeder. This should help for the first week.
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