Ask the Expert
How Many Frames of Capped Brood is Optimum in a Double Deep During Summer?
Tyler from Montana writes: How many frames of capped brood is the optimum in a double deep during summer?
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How Long Should I Feed Bees in Spring
Add to Favorites Bill asks: Last year you told me to feed the bees until June because I was starting out with a completely new Top Bar hive, with no …
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How Many Days After Requeening Should I See Eggs?
After eight days, you should see eggs by now, even if it took the workers two or three days to release her. A queenless colony can go about 21 days before the workers’ ovaries begin to develop.
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What Does a Caught Swarm Need to Thrive?
I just caught my first swarm by placing a deep hive body on top of a very active swarm on a low brush pile. When I got the deep back to the yard, I installed a frame feeder and a top feeder as well as a pollen patty. I inspected the hive yesterday afternoon, and it is packed out with bees (maybe 5-6 lbs ).
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How Often Should I Test for Varroa Mites?
I would like to know when I should start testing for varroa mites. And then what schedule should I follow for the following months?
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When Should I Perform the First Mite Check and Treatment?
A key time for getting a jump on varroa is when the colony is broodless, since any mites present will be in a phoretic state rather than hiding inside capped brood.
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Why Do My Colonies Keep Swarming?
I have three hives started last year and all three swarmed in the last week. Now, they are swarming again — the same colonies. Why do the same colonies keep swarming every few days?
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Will a Swarm Survive Cool, Rainy Weather?
Bees swarmed yesterday from our hive. They are in one of our fruit trees. Today it has been raining all afternoon with temps in the high 40s to 50. Is the swarm able to survive in this weather?
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Can a Drone be Effective in Locating Swarms?
Could a drone be effective in locating swarms? I assume you are asking about a man-made drone, not a male honey bee. A male honey bee would be useless in that line of work!
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Can I Feed Bees Honey From Another Hive?
The real problem with feeding honey from another hive is whether the honey is contaminated with spores of American foulbrood (AFB). If any of the colonies that produced it had AFB, the honey can easily become contaminated. And when you have a large bucket, the honey is likely from multiple colonies, which increases the chances of contamination.
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