Recent content by Rhyolite

If every swarm that is caught is treated for mites. Every split is treated, and every hive given new undrawn frames and treated... Would this in theory (almost) eliminate varroa mites if done on a full scale joint effort? There should be a period of time with no brood while the bees are...

This one was a split queen, I never marked her last year so no concerns about laying. Thanks for the replies everyone

Yes, I got some of the pen paint flowing by using it on the side of the box but when I went to put some on her a huge drop went on her. Hopefully her wings aren't glued together.

In my efforts to mark the queen, my marker blobbed paint all over her wings. Is this an issue?

That's great, thanks all. I got in around 10 am last week and all went smoothly.

Is there any issues opening a hive in the morning or do people tend to wait until afternoon?

Will do. Thank you. I'll try and get in sooner than later to them.

A swarm arrived into my bait nuc today, I have one drawn frame in there. How long before the bees start drawing from the roof? It could be a day or two before I get a chance to get in and put the rest of the frames in.

I have a double brood box both with six frames each. I'm trying to keep them this way for my back but I can keep the full size super on top as they're manageable.

I like this doolittle method. It seems relatively straightforward. Thanks for the feedback everyone. Good luck this year.

I haven't had a chance (with work and weather) to have a full inspection yet so no idea on queen cells etc. They swarmed last year once in early May, possibly twice but I got both swarms back so trying to figure out the best approach for this year (second year at it).

Essentially a walk away split without having to inspect all the frames to make sure the split has enough stores, eggs etc. I did a quick inspection of a few frames recently and all looks good but I don't want to be pulling everything apart if possible.

I have a double brood box set up with six frames in each and large insulated dummy boards to fill the gaps. (I saw a post last year with a lady who did this to save her back, they over wintered great for me and lifting is easier) My question, can I put one box on a new base and keep the other...

For anyone who is using powdered sugar for varroa treatment, what grinder do you use if not buying powdered sugar from the shop? Thank you