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Background

The demaree method of swarm control is basically a split resulting in a stack that's a brood box, a queen excluder, some supers, another queen excluder, and then another brood box. One...

Just as a random data point, here's my experience:

First year: started with 4 nucs, had some swarms, combined 2 colonies, extracted maybe 3 mason jars, all 3 colonies overwintered successfully in...

I would say 1 colony is not enough because you need another to compare against. But if you want 2 colonies, you really need 3 in case one fails. But then you can't maintain an exact number, so a...

Usually side-by-side colonies are used as nucs. They overwinter well that way, and like any nuc you can take resources from them to give to production colonies, or replace losses.

But yeah, if...

I've seen similar behavior when rehiving bees or giving a new queen to a queenless colony. In these cases I've assumed it's a nasanov "here's home" signal, though I can't seem to smell nasanov. ...

I've been having pretty good luck with my Apimaye hives, which is another insulated brand, also compatible with standard wooden Langstroth. They're polystyrene on the inside but covered in plastic...

I just did my first extraction with a little Lyson extractor, 2 deep frames at a time, spun tangentially. Ended up with about 12 gallons.

No real complaints on the extractor. Sometimes it shook...

Another crowdfunded hive for new beekeepers. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/b-box-1st-ever-hive-designed-for-home-beekeeping

I'm a little unclear how you get in there to inspect the brood...

My sample size is small, but I haven't noticed anything like that. I've had both semi-hot and very gentle colonies in Apimaye hives and wooden hives. For example, I caught a swarm in a plywood nuc...

I'm no expert and struggle a lot with swarming myself, but I think for the most part the kind of "space" they care about is space for the queen to lay. Secondary is space near the brood area,...

For what it's worth, my area of rural southern NY still has some flow, probably through September. Nothing too exciting, but you know, something.

Around mid-October it gets kinda late to feed...

The hives I use have a permanently attached mouse guard and adjustable entrance reducer.

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It's handy but there are cheaper ways to accomplish the same thing.

The great thing about planting something nearby is that you get to watch the bees forage. It won't make much difference to the bees but for a hobbyist it's part of the fun. Maybe pick something...

I'm running all 10-frame deeps like you're thinking of doing. It's got its pluses and minuses.

I think two deep brood boxes is a perfectly good setup for overwintering in a northern climate.
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Ok, thanks for the thoughts. It sounds like you're not super worried. This colony is in a double deep with maybe 15 of the 20 frames drawn, so I don't think one frame plus or minus would make much...

Ah hah, I found a couple photos after all. I was intending to photograph the queen and my ham-fisted job of marking her, but in the background you can see uncapped cells with brood that's either...

Would it concern you to see a 4 inch by 4 inch area of comb where almost every cell had a visible bee in it? I should've taken a video.

I didn't have pollen patties but gave them a winter patty...

tl;dr: Frame of emerging brood looked lethargic. Why? What to do?

Background:

I captured a swarm and installed them in a 10-frame deep with a half gallon of syrup in a top feeder, plus a couple...

At that price I don't see these being used much by folks who are trying to make money from their bees. But it's an interesting idea, maybe I'll give it a try!

I have some spare Apimaye "handy...

Don't ask the doc for an EpiPen. Ask for a generic epinephrin injector. Unlike with other drugs, your pharmacist can't give you the generic if your prescription is for an EpiPen. The official...

I'm not sure, but if I saw that bee near my hives my first thought would be this quote from Randy Oliver:

It has long been noted that bees will “pick” at nestmates infected with Chronic Paralysis...

I have a colony of slightly smaller and darker bees.

They seem to be a little more defensive and less productive.

At the opposite extreme, my favorite and most productive colony had the largest...

Yeah the fact that the loppers required two hands (or in my case, a hand and an armpit) was a clear problem. Then the tip of the branch broke right where I was holding it. In retrospect I would hold...

The wife said the bees were being loud. They're on our rooftop.

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Sure enough, they were swarming. Went outside and saw them starting to gather on a branch over the driveway. Our ladder...

Ok, thanks Jade! Will update the thread if I ever figure out what's going on.