I started my first hives in May 2009, in the Catskill Mountains in New York. I got about 30 frames of honey and the deep hive bodies were really full going into winter. I had a late swarm in one hive and a total departure in the other. Now I have about 15 frames of honey and 25 more of drawn comb. How do I use those with new bees?
Just add a package or swarm. Nothing special to do.
I started last year as well. I do not intend to hijack this thread. Along the same line here, when using those frames from winter die-outs, if there are dead bees in cells (starvation?) do they need to be removed before placing them in the hives? How "clean" do they need to be? I know I missed some, here and there. Will it cause disease?
Quote from: joker1656 on March 18, 2010, 07:54:30 AM
I started last year as well. I do not intend to hijack this thread. Along the same line here, when using those frames from winter die-outs, if there are dead bees in cells (starvation?) do they need to be removed before placing them in the hives? How "clean" do they need to be? I know I missed some, here and there. Will it cause disease?
Nope, just clean off as many bees as you can easily. Make sure that the deadout can get air inside, don't push the frames togather, then it can mold and get stinky. Put the new bees in the old hive, and several thousand bees can clean it up far quicker and easier than one of you can. They polish it up pretty well before brooding.
The only disease that you really need to be concerned about in winter dead-outs would be AFB (the others are fairly easily fixable), and you would likely have seen that over the summer.
Rick