Surviving Hive Looking Good

Upper sixties today, so I wanted to get the liquid feeder on, with a spring dosage of fumagilin-B for nosema), and check on the hive's status.  Bees were flying all around.  The first thing I noticed was the large amount of pollen sitting on the landing board.
Bees were bring in pollen like crazy, a good sign.  I hated to see all that pollen wasted, though.  I think they are having a hard time getting into the hive with their loads, given the small entrances both below and above.  To remedy that, I drilled a hole through the spacer above the top box which I have on to give room for patties.  They seemed to love that.
I did pull all three boxes apart and pulled a frame or two from each.  I thought maybe the queen had descended to the lowest level, which has many empty frames, but she apparently is in the upper box since that is where I found the larva, some capped.
So, there are a lot of bees in this hive.  That's good news.  I should be able to do one, possibly two splits.  I'll try to order queens tomorrow.  Temps for the extended forecast are looking good, with highs in the sixties and lows in the 40's, with a little rain now and then.  Crocuses are beginning to show blooms and the rhubarb is really coming up.  Grapes, blueberries and raspberries are trimmed and ready for spray.  Spring is finally on the way!

Comments

  1. Wow! That is a lot of pollen outside the hive entrance.

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  2. Hi, Michelle. Yes, I think as they crawled up under the top cover to go in the little hole through the inner cover they lost their hard-earned loads. I saw plenty of bees inside the hive that made it in with pollen, though, so I think they'll be good.

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