Both of my hives have chalkbrood, or maybe stonebrood, I’m not sure. I can see the heads of larvae and they are white and shiny. The dried larvae often fall out when I tip the frames. The brood disease emerged about 6 weeks ago in Hive 2, but only about 3 wks in Hive 1.
There are eggs in both hives, however, number of capped brood seems very low (only about a 2 frame faces in each hive).
Queen 1 hatched from a small swarm cell that I missed. She is only 6wks old and still laying some pairs of eggs in each cell. Queen 2 is a little bigger and hatched in early summer from a hive split.
I’d consider both hives weak at this time and I’m concerned about preparing for winter.
My thought is to cull Queen 1 and combine the hives and start feeding syrup. I'm concerned that disease and brood levels will remain a problem. Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks
There are eggs in both hives, however, number of capped brood seems very low (only about a 2 frame faces in each hive).
Queen 1 hatched from a small swarm cell that I missed. She is only 6wks old and still laying some pairs of eggs in each cell. Queen 2 is a little bigger and hatched in early summer from a hive split.
I’d consider both hives weak at this time and I’m concerned about preparing for winter.
My thought is to cull Queen 1 and combine the hives and start feeding syrup. I'm concerned that disease and brood levels will remain a problem. Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks