[BeeWood]

I ordered a queen late last week that will be in tomorrow to replace a weak laying queen. Yesterday I noticed a moth, which I guess was a wax moth, on the removable bottom board. Killed it. I saw another today in same spot. I haven't opened the hive because I didn't want to disturb them before I put in the new queen.

If I see wax moth damage in the early stages when I open it up to replace the queen, can I freeze half the frames at a time and then replace before they have released the new queen? I have to leave day after tomorrow and will return 4 days later so timing could be a problem too.

The hive has two deeps and did have plenty of bees three weeks ago. I would rather not use moth crystals.

 

[Hokie Bee Daddy]

First, seeing a wax moth does not mean you have damage. I see wax moths all of the time and good strong hives will clean out all wax moth eggs and larvae before they have a chance to damage the colony.

If you have wax moth damage it means you have a weak bee population and they have more comb than they can protect. If you see damage you need to first determine why they are weak and fix that problem (perhaps that is why you are re-queening?). Then you will go into rescue mode by putting all of the good frames in one deep and freezing the other frames. It is better then to have too little room to hold the colony than too much. If necessary you could even take them down to a five frame nuc. After reducing the comb to match the bee population you can introduce the new queen and let her build the hive up in a few weeks. Then you can put that frozen deep back on and the bees will clean it right up.

If you have wax moth damage you should also suspect varroa mites this time of year and treat for them. A hive can go from strong to dead in three weeks due to varroa infestation.

Good luck,

Jay