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I had a couple of hives set up at a farm which died out at the beginning of last year. Being in a somewhat remote location, not close to home, I left the boxes where they were and ignored them until recently. I was planning to visit the site this spring to clean up the boxes and then move a couple of splits up to replace them.
A few weeks ago the farmer called and said that a swarm had moved into one of the hives. This past weekend I made a visit to the farm and cleaned out the unoccupied hive. What a mess, webbing and wax moth cocoons everywhere. Two of the three mediums were a total disaster and I had to cut out all the comb that was left.
The surprise came when I inspected the colony next to it which the swarm had moved into. It had to be in the same condition as the hive I had just cleaned up, but all 3 mediums were clean as a whistle. New comb, a box and a half of brood. I was stunned. In 3 weeks they turned a nasty webby mess into a perfect hive.
Anyone ever see this happen? I'm still shaking my head. It's a first for me, I usually never let my boxes go unattended like this. I can't believe how quickly they cleaned it up.
A few weeks ago the farmer called and said that a swarm had moved into one of the hives. This past weekend I made a visit to the farm and cleaned out the unoccupied hive. What a mess, webbing and wax moth cocoons everywhere. Two of the three mediums were a total disaster and I had to cut out all the comb that was left.
The surprise came when I inspected the colony next to it which the swarm had moved into. It had to be in the same condition as the hive I had just cleaned up, but all 3 mediums were clean as a whistle. New comb, a box and a half of brood. I was stunned. In 3 weeks they turned a nasty webby mess into a perfect hive.
Anyone ever see this happen? I'm still shaking my head. It's a first for me, I usually never let my boxes go unattended like this. I can't believe how quickly they cleaned it up.