Bees on hair trigger when you reach into the feed chamber (above inner cover). Probably because they are using the bore hole in that box for the main entry and exit. Also using a mid level bore hole, and a few bees going in and out, and cleaning up, from the entrance on the base.
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| Swarm Hive 'feed chamber' above the inner cover. Bees are all over/in the inner cover opening. Bees on some comb from the dead hive. |
Over on the other side of town, the scene is happy and productive, bees still have honey, although the middle hive is just about out, judging from top box. Put pollen patties in all hives, and sugar water jars.
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| Chris in bee suit with hives. Mt Helena in background. |
So, combo hive on left facing North had plenty of honey. On 3/13, we added to this hive 1:1 sugar water on top and a homemade megabee patty above the second hive body. Gave the same treatment to the middle hive, a swarm hive, and to the right hive, the miracle queen hive. As Bob said, the honey super in the middle hive was empty. On the right hive, the honey super had plenty of honey as did the left hive.
ReplyDeleteWe checked the sugar water two days later. It was untouched in the left hive and the right hive, but half down in the middle hive, where the honey was the shortest.
After an evening at the youtube bee cinema, I may run out tomorrow and pull the openings out to sweep out dead bees on the bottom board, which may be blocking the openings.