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 ).
Read MoreI 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?
Read MoreI live just outside of Seattle. Yesterday I found a queen dead on the landing board of my top bar hive. She was with two worker bees that were alive. I am not sure what they were doing. Pushing her off of the ledge?
Read MoreDeciding how to handle a late swarm can be difficult, even for an experienced beekeeper. Although late swarms have a very low survival rate, they can be helped along with additional resources.
Read MoreOn a frame that has emerged queen cells and capped queen cells, is it most likely that the capped cell contents have been killed and of no use in trying to raise a queen in a nuc? Are these cells eventually torn down by the workers?
Read MoreIf I have queen cells on three different frames, and I know they are going to swarm. This is a new colony from a nuc. Could I make a split from this situation?
Read MoreIf I have queen cells on three different frames, and I know they are going to swarm. This is a new colony from a nuc. Could I make a split from this situation?
Read MoreI received my package, and 80 to 90% of the bees were dead. I could not tell if the queen bee was there. We tried to remove most of the dead bees. We just put the queen part at the bottom of the brood box.
Read MoreAfter 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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