Aloha all,
Any advice for caring for a captured colony? I procured my first colony from a friend's sprinkler irrigation box. After 6 weeks and three hive exams, I've finally found good evidence that I have a queen (larva, capped brood and eggs at the bottom and center of cells). I originally hung several chunks of their comb onto empty frames and included a few standard frames. The colony size is small,only 1-2,000. They haven't really made new comb onto blank frames, just utilizing existing comb. I have a screen-floor/small hive beetle trap that is effective but seems to collect a lot of propolis in the oil trap. Should I do anything else right now to support this hive? Winters get cool at our 4,000 ft elev., but never less than say 45F at night and up to 70F during the day.
Thanks!
Any advice for caring for a captured colony? I procured my first colony from a friend's sprinkler irrigation box. After 6 weeks and three hive exams, I've finally found good evidence that I have a queen (larva, capped brood and eggs at the bottom and center of cells). I originally hung several chunks of their comb onto empty frames and included a few standard frames. The colony size is small,only 1-2,000. They haven't really made new comb onto blank frames, just utilizing existing comb. I have a screen-floor/small hive beetle trap that is effective but seems to collect a lot of propolis in the oil trap. Should I do anything else right now to support this hive? Winters get cool at our 4,000 ft elev., but never less than say 45F at night and up to 70F during the day.
Thanks!