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Many hives will get defensive in a hurry if you accidentally smash bees or injure them while working them. I do not like accidentally smashing bees when I work my hives for this reason, the bees get...

That's been my experience as well. An overwintered queen is worth more than an unproven one for me, but I am not in the honey business. There may be some benefit that comes from a new queen that I've...

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Thanks for all the varied responses, and I wholeheartedly agree with most of what all of you are saying. I'm trying to get my beekeeping "mojo" back, and I think I need to get out in the yard more...

That's how I make mine these days, LJ. I have an original custom template that I base all my measurements on. I have retired the hives that didn't follow these measurements, making life easier. I am...

I agree it should be, geometry doesn't lie. Perhaps I didn't get it quite centered, possibly the boards were warped a bit too much, but I remember specifically that the inner mid-section was narrower...

Thanks MB. Sorry to hear about your bees. I may give the nematodes a try and see what happens.

Litsinger,

I believe you articulated my message much better than I could have. I didn't mean for my post to come across as admonishment, but immediately after posting, I realized it could very...

Those are nice sized swarms. Congratulations, soars.

I'm one for one, and was happy with that. Early last week, a swarm randomly showed up in my backyard. Initially, I thought it was one of my splits that maybe absconded, but both were still there. As...

I think MB did a wonderful thing by giving folks a simple design to follow, making construction possible for those with the most rudimentary of tools and materials to build a movable comb hive. This...

I've had great luck using 1.5" bars throughout, and keeping them tight, as mischief suggested. I initially tried 1.25" in the broodnest, 1.5" for stores, but realized how tedious this became as the...

Yeah, it's a pain. I've witnessed them attack scout bees before once they start nesting. Have to take down the whole trap, reset it. Even then, chances are a couple will move back in.

It would be better to know what form of wasp you're dealing with. Not all wasps exhibit the same behaviors. Red wasps are thick in my area, and while they are a nuisance in setting up shop in my...

I base on the colony size. I've overwintered 8 bars total before. I've also overwintered a full 4' tbh with nearly all combs in place. Like any hive, a lot of it is based on regional decisions, type...

Hey J. Lee, great seeing you and thanks. Doing pretty good. Caught an early swarm in a bait hive, had another show up in my backyard that I believe were en route to an abandoned hive from last year....

For anyone who has read what happened in my apiary last year, it made me wonder if much of the TF community is perhaps sending the wrong message. This isn't a dig on any group or person, just a...

Bit of thread digging, but I never properly replied to your suggestion. Apologies for being late. I actually have a long lang, and to me, it has all the disadvantages of both the TBH and lang. From a...

I took a walloping last year on bees due to inattention from my part. I bred more SHB than bees, and I'm wondering how effective nematodes are for knocking SHB numbers down. I know what I need to do...

Based on what I observed (admittedly, I did little true observation) I would say your numbers are pretty on point in regard to swarming. I had some large TBHs last year going into spring. Split most...

This one is gold, and true on so many levels.

Reassuring to hear the theories as to what is seemingly a very hand-to-mouth scenario regarding the brood rearing. I was worried that it might be some unseen environmental cause such as an overall...

Hey SP, good to see you, and thanks for the response. I imagine that's the case. In some ways, I feel a bit like I'm starting over this year as I was absent from the hives for so long. I'm not...

I was chatting to a local beek yesterday about this very thing. I've personally never seen such low nectar production in my hives for this time of year. Despite that fact, the bees are doing great by...

Hey Greg!

Good to see you.