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You can post an "I told you so." if you like. This morning the feeder was on the ground, empty. My very first swarm was in an eave and it was well established with a LOT of comb. The bees behaved well which was a big surprise since I was slicing though a lot of brood. There was so much comb, this could have been there for years, at least two. I never got to see the queen before the exterminator had to do his business. That was last Wednesday. I took them to my Top Bar hive and set most of the brood comb parallel, but slightly zig-zagged and left them alone until this morning. I just got through wiring up the most promising comb. Now if there are enough bees and larvae this doomed colony has a chance to produce a queen. The word is still out with local pest controllers for me to get another swarm, but if it's another cut-out I may pass. It's just difficult to think about a viable colony getting wiped out just because they set up in a bad location.I recommend that you move that feeder to the inside of the hive and reduce the entrance to just large enough for a bee or two. You can use a cork with a hole in it since it round. The hive looks really weak. You don't want them to get robbed out.
BTW, love the hive. My better half wanted to know why mine didn't look that nice.
Now I have the perfect plan. Yesterday I talked with the busiest, most experienced beekeeper/bee remover in all of Texas. He has about 50 years experience and he sounded like I would have to work hard to keep up with this spry 71 year old semi-retired electrician. He agreed to help me populate and keep my hive in return for me helping him on the next 5 calls in my area. So I get practical experience and my best bees for doing something I would do just to learn.dont PASS get PREPARED !