One of my two hives was attacked by robbers. Unfortunately, I was away for a few days and the robbing was well underway by the time I was home. The entire hive was cleaned out (except for brood and some pollen) and all the bees were dead. I've cleaned out the hive and threw away the frames with a lot of brood then cleaned up the remaining frames. All the boxes are in my garaged stacked and criss crossed for ventilation. I assume I should wait until next spring to repopulate the hive. Is it okay to leave the boxes and empty frames in my garage (a few bees are investigating) and is criss cross ventilation enough to avoid wax moths. Thanks

Hello, after starting two hives last spring and both making it through the winter, I have added on medium box honey super on each hive (the brood box is three mediums). One hive has an excluder and is doing well. The second hive's bees were not going through the excluder so I took that one off and now those bees have been building out the honey super frames for a few weeks. A few questions: 1) How long should I wait before adding a second honey super box? 2) Should I put the excluder back not he second hive since the bees are now building out the super? 3) Will a put the supers back on after harvesting honey? 4) Both hives are doing well. Is there a need to go into the hives when they are doing well? I feel like I avoid disturbing them if everything is going well. Mistake? Thanks!, Eric

Hi, I wrapped my two beehives with roofing felt (tar paper) this winter. It seems to have worked well. When should I remove it? Also, I still have the entrance reducer on (smallest hole). Should that come out yet? Thanks

Hello, I started two hives (now three medium boxes each) last spring. This will be my first spring to try and get honey. I was planning to purchase two medium boxes for each hive to use as honey supers. These will be new frames too. A few questions: 1) Is a queen excluder recommended? 2) Will the workers build out frames on new frames above the queen excluder (if I use one). 3) Should I "prime" the new honey super box with a built out frame from the existing medium boxes? 4) Should I add one medium box super and wait for that to get filled before adding a second? Any other recommendations? Thanks for your help! Eric

Hi, this is my first winter with bees. I have two hives, both were well stocked with three medium boxes very full of honey/sugar syrup. Is it necessary/recommended to insulate hives in Carroll County? Also, should I put fondant in each hive even though they seemed well stocked? Thanks, Eric

Hello, this will be my first winter with bees. I have two colonies that are doing well and each has three well stocked medium boxes filled with honey and some brood. Is there anything you recommend I do for winter prep other than feeding. I just reduced the entrance to the smallest size. Insulation, mouse guards or other recommendations? Also, does the inner cover notch go up or down in the winter? Thanks, Eric

Hello, I have two hives (first year). One doing very well with three medium brood boxes and a second with two medium brood boxes. The second hive was requested because the prior queen wasn't laying eggs. That went well. I moved one frame of brood a couple weeks ago from the healthy hive to the newly queened smaller hive. Should I move more frame(s) over from the healthy hive to give the smaller hive a bigger bump? If so, how many medium frames can I safely move out of the the larger hive into the smaller hive without setting the large have back too much? Thanks

Hello, this is my first year of keeping bees. One hive is doing great and the second hive was falling behind and the queen wasn't laying. I re-queened my second hive and moved a couple frames of brood in to give the weaker hive a kickstart. The strong hive is still going well. In a week or so, the second medium (I'm using all mediums) brood box will likely be full. Should I add a third medium brood box or is it late enough not to do so? I am watching the weaker hive to make sure it rebounds with the new young queen. Good egg laying so far. Thanks

I installed two nucs in mid May. Both are doing well. One is doing very well and I added a second medium box (I'm using all mediums) because 8 of 10 frames were drawn out. The second seems healthy but not as active. I left that hive at one box. I removed the top feeders on both a week ago as they seemed to be going through less than a gallon a week in both hives. Should I let the bees forage for themselves or keep top feeders on longer?

Hello, I am a new beekeeper and member of HCBA. I have two new hives started from nucs in mid-May. Both are doing well. I am currently using the large entrance reducer opening figuring the bees needed time to establish. With 90 degree weather coming and summer getting into full swing, should I remove the entrance reducers all together to promote ventilation? Thanks