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This is the beginning of my second year, so my first time having to deal with hives that didn't make it through the winter. I had two deadouts and as I broke them down, I came up with the following questions. Any help answering these is greatly appreciated.
1) I have quite a few frames of capped honey. What is the best way to store these until I need them to supplement a split/swarm?
2) I have some frames that I believe have fermented honey. What is the best way to clean these out?
3) I have a box and a couple frames with mold on them. What is the best way to sanitize these before reuse?
4) I have some frames of pollen, but the pollen looks damp. Can I save these? If not, how do I clean these out.
and the one that bothers me the most...
5) One of the hives actually had a queen and about 100 bees around her. I did find some spotty capped brood, but it was all dead as I'm sure they couldn't keep it warm. I took the small amount of bees and the queen, a couple frames of honey, a frame of pollen and a couple frames of empty comb and put them in a nuc. I know they won't survive like this, but I thought it was too early to try and take any brood or bees from one of my other hives that has survived. Is there anything I can do at this time to try and save the queen and boost a very small colony like this one?
Thanks in advance for any advice. Much appreciated!
1) I have quite a few frames of capped honey. What is the best way to store these until I need them to supplement a split/swarm?
2) I have some frames that I believe have fermented honey. What is the best way to clean these out?
3) I have a box and a couple frames with mold on them. What is the best way to sanitize these before reuse?
4) I have some frames of pollen, but the pollen looks damp. Can I save these? If not, how do I clean these out.
and the one that bothers me the most...
5) One of the hives actually had a queen and about 100 bees around her. I did find some spotty capped brood, but it was all dead as I'm sure they couldn't keep it warm. I took the small amount of bees and the queen, a couple frames of honey, a frame of pollen and a couple frames of empty comb and put them in a nuc. I know they won't survive like this, but I thought it was too early to try and take any brood or bees from one of my other hives that has survived. Is there anything I can do at this time to try and save the queen and boost a very small colony like this one?
Thanks in advance for any advice. Much appreciated!