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I always put boxes that I want drawn out on top. Since you are in a warm area and your hive is strong you could move the medium to the bottom and put the new deep on top. In the fall or next spring...

I've introduced several NWC queens from Strachans and from tarheit here on Beesource into Italian hives and never had a problem with them being rejected. I've made nucs with a combination of frames...

One of the advantages of letting the bees release the queen in foundation conditions is that while they are waiting for the queen to be free, they start drawing comb which is a reason for them to...

I've never fed right up to the time that I added a honey super. The problem with that is that you can't tell it's time for the super. After many years, I know when to add supers in my area, but I...

Are you using foundation? Did you release the queen or let the bees do it?

You just need to remove the excluder until they have started drawing comb. Then either shake the bees off or make sure the queen isn't up there and you can put it back on.

We sell amost of our honey at one place (fruit/vegetable stand) on consignment. They are open from June (strawberries) through October. Over the years we have agreed that they keep 20% but we set...

For me it is when I have enough bees to make up mating nucs. I could graft earlier and I would have drones, but I don't have the resources to get enough mating nucs until about the 1st of May...

Ingo,

The abandonment method can work, but I have only had it work when the nights are cool (low 50'sF). On warm nights, especially if you have broken honey on the bottoms of the frames, a lot of...

If you have drawn wet comb from last year and strong hives you can put the excluder on and every cell in you honey supers will have been repaired in a day or so.

That box looks pretty empty of bees. I would expect to see bees on the top and between every frame when I remove the hive top.

I'm not sure that I know when bees are happy, but I sure know when they aren't!!

I have a field that has 9 hives in a row that I use a tractor and brush hog to mow with to about 2-3 feet in front of the hives. This time of year, I don't have any problem. In fact I mowed the...

Are there actual larva in the "uncapped queen cells"?

That's right. It isn't an exact science...the more the better but that would be an average that I think would work. But Andrew Dewey is right, they need to have some brood to try to save them. ...

I don't know about Testors pens, but I use Testors model paint and a piece of grass.

It's fine to not want to use excluders, but you will need to accept the fact that the queen will lay as far up in the hive as she can. To her there is no such thing as a honey super. They will...

If you have more hives, I find that you can fix 90-95% of weak spring hives by adding a couple of frames of capped brood with bees and shaking in another frame of bees in. If your weak hive doesn't...

Well you may not have a strong flow, but I bet there is a nice selection of nectar out there for them. This time of year I can get my wet supers out of storage and stack them within 100 feet of my...

If you start seeing mites on bees in the hive, it's my opinion that you have a lot of mites. I never see mites on bees while going through hives, but I have plenty of mites. As far as finding them...

In 20 years or so of beekeeping I have had exactly one laying worker hive, so I'm not sure that I'm one to advise you. But one thing that I wouldn't advise is to move another hive to the place of...

95% if the time I can fix "stuck" winter nucs by adding a couple of frames of capped brood and bees and shaking in another frame of nurse bees. 5% of the time that doesn't work and I need to requeen...

I would try dumping them in front of one of the moved hives for a night or two. I'll bet they stay. I did this just a couple of days ago. After moving a hive, I put a box with drawn comb in place...

I watched your video. Here is my critique. Your method might just work where you are, but for others watching, I would suggest dumping at least enough bees over the queen to keep her warm. I...

This hive has already swarmed (he did it for them), so these are emergency cells. I wouldn't cut any of them out. Moving cells to nucs is fine since you can put them back if things don't work out. ...