[FarmerJon]

Hi everyone, I live in North Texas. I moved here from California 10 years ago. I live in the country on 17 acres. I have a beehive thats was here when we bought the place. Their was 2 of them but 1 got destroyed.The other is in bad shape. There are bees. I bought a new hive setup. and suit with all the things you need. Today i opened the hives lid and looked in. There was bees on top and it was thick with cones . I didnt want to disturb them to much and the frames were stuck real good. The cones on top were real dark and so was the honey. I want to adventually change out the old boxes. I went ahead and fed them sugarwater. By removing the Thin cover on top, the actual top has decinagrated over the years, and putting a short super over it ,removed a few frames and added the jar of syrup. and put the new covers on. Its been the coldest winter since I've been here. So My question is when is a good time to change the boxes out. And did I do the right thing by feeding them now. Thanks Very much

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Bees need to cluster to keep warm, especially below 50 degrees. When it warms up you can change out parts and take a more active role. They may not take the sugar if it is too cold to break the cluster. The comb darkens with age as the bees add propolis to strengthen the comb and prevent disease. If it is almost black, it is several years old. When you are comfortable working in the hive, you will want to change the queen. Remove the old girl, kill her outside the hive, and put in a new queen. Requeening should improve the hive's health and calm them, regardless of how nice they already are.

 

[FarmerJon]

Thank you very much, for the info. They did eat yesterday a whole quart jar of syrup. So I put another jar in today. It colder today they look less active. Again Thanks FJ