50's this week

was EVERYONE out checking bees this weekend!?!? in the shelter of the beehouse - i actually performed my "spring cleaning" and "hive body switch" on the two backyard hives. one is THRIVING and the other...alive.

from the strong hive - i brushed....maybe a couple thousand dead bees from the bottom board....very few. the cluster had made it into the middle of deep number two (this is a three deep hive....i'm experimenting) and had small areas of brood. deep number two was examined and placed on the bottom board (hive body switch). deep number one is now deep number two. it was still somewhat full of bees on some empty frames....these frames i kept in relative vertical position for the "cluster" (try not to break the cluster)....frames that were somewhat empty and empty of bees - i "checkerboarded" with honey frames.

"checkerboarding" is sometimes also called "nectar management". it's essentially re-arranging and alternating frames - one empty/one honey/one empty/one honey/etc. (WITHOUT breaking the cluster!!!)

deep number three was also checkerboarded with honey and some empty frames. the method behind this madness is to "give the bees room". this particular bee (feral by now) seemingly goes through a really strong SPRING BUILDUP....if i don't break up all the honey frames - they'll feel "honeybound" and swarm. what i've read on nectar managment, indicates that by alternating frames as this - the cluster and bees utilize more of the box.

...and getting back to the "alive" box. maybe a few thousand bees is all that's left!....and the queen (saw her - she was easy to find as they were guarding/protecting her). hindsight being 20/20....SOMETHING went on with this hive already last fall. i think it was taking a population dive at that time already. i had a queen issue with that hive mid-summer - maybe they requeened late. i got them down to one box....kept the cluster frames together in the corner and did what i could to remove icky frames and bees. ....likely won't make it through the remaining cool nights. didn't want to combine them with the strong hive...don't want to transfer any disease if that was the issue....i wish i had a nuc box - they might fare better in there.