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I was late extracting this year and just finally got it done. Our honey was considerably darker than I've gotten the last few years and definitely has a different taste. I won't say molasses but it does have a strong taste. I was just wondering if this is what others have seen or if I'm out on an is...

If you see no eggs or larva at this point you probably have an issue.

If it were me I'd either buy a queen or grab a frame with eggs, larva and capped brood from the other hive and put it in so they can make a queen.

To follow up, even when I run the Popsicle stick I sometimes see the black mold, just not as much of it. I only use top feeders on splits for early buildup and never run them long enough that it's a big concern.

Depending on what type top feeders your running you could very well be cutting the air flow that your inner cover usually provides. I run a pop cycle stick at the top of mine to let some air flow without allowing space for bees to get through and cause a mass drowning. when I forget to provide that ...

I know everyone manages differently but I thought I'd throw out where I'm at right now in hopes that it will help someone save a hive. I run double deeps and ensure that they go into winter packed with honey by feeding 2:1 heavy until they stop taking it in early November. In early January I used ne...

I was worried sick all week about mine but all six made it. I made 1:1 sugar water on Saturday and at about 11am Sunday morning I stuck a half gallon boardman feeder on all of them. Before doing so I tapped on each hive and got a response, a much weaker roar than I'm used to, but it was there. This ...

" I realize this is not the best time of year to be opening hives" Truth is everyone I know with bees will be in their hives over the next two days. We don't get many chances this time of year and it's going to be close to 60 degrees or better Saturday and Sunday. This is the most dangerou...

Man that sucks. I'm going into my fourth year and have fed 2/1 sugar water consistently the last three because I'm terrified mine are going to starve every year. The down side has been that I've had such early big build ups that I've had swarms as early as 15 March. This year I fed sugar water prett...

Thanks for the information, it will be put to good use!!!

I'm starting my 2015 equipment ramp up. I've always hand nailed my frames but I read a lot of posts about people using staples and am thinking about giving that a try. Instead of destroying a bunch of material trying to figure out what works I thought I'd ask. Anyone that uses an air stapler care to...

I'm starting my fourth year and have not lost a hive over winter yet but a lot of that has to do with me feeding every warm day through the winter because I'm always worried about starving bees. The bad side of my process is that I'm fighting swarms every year as early as March. I've read articles a...

I've got a hive that built some comb on the landing board probably about 3/4 the size of a golf ball. There are always a couple bees tending to it although there's no nectar or polen in it. I've never seen this and did a bit of web searching with no real results. Any ideas?

Thanks for the feedback. I've made it so far by treating each year, started with two packages year one which I split into 4 hives year two and split up to 10 this year, so I'm a little afraid to break what's been working since I haven't lost a hive yet. I fully realize I'm not special and my day is ...

I'm well into my third year and the first two I treated for mites without checking levels. Reason for that is because I was as overwhelmed as everyone who starts keeping bees and checking mite levels was just too much to comprehend when trying to master basic techniques. I am now at a point where I ...

I went in today to take a look around and got hit several times before getting smart enough to put some gear on. What a difference a couple weeks makes.

Hope yalls aren't as irritated as mine yet but I'd have some gear close if you haven't worked them in a while.

It's been in bloom for a good 2 to 3 weeks. If anything we're on the back end of the bloom and it could be over in a week or so unless it stays really cool. If you look up into the poplars you'll see a yellow flower on the tips of the tree or you can just walk around under a popular after one of our...

This is my third year and i battled swarms last year and ever hive has swarmed at least once this year. I have pulled splits, caught swarms and given a couple away because I don't need more hives. I've went from 4 to 8 hives this year and still have 2 NUCS that I'm waiting on new equipment to hive s...

My top entrance experment is about over. The hive I set up in the above picture was originally my strongest hive but is definitely under performing several other hives in the same yard. Its got one medium super full with partially capped honey and other hives near it are well into filling their seco...

I've been waiting for someone to comment on this thread. I feed 2/1 sugar water in the fall until they stop taking it but have no experience with corn syrup. I know it's cheaper and have thought about it but never pulled the trigger due to reading several articles that theorize that on the commercia...

It's hard to imagine having multiple queen cells and not ending up with a queen but many things could have happened to cause it. It could be a simple as the first emerging queen killing all the others in their cells and then getting ate by a bird on one of her mating flights. I always try and make m...