Sunday, March 13, 2016

Final cleanup

Just finished cleaning out all the hives.  2 had very small clusters in the center which looked like they froze during the cold snap we had.  All the others were empty of bees, less a few dead on the bottom board.  None had any full brood cells.  All hives were full of honey which is a bear to strain as it is so viscus this time of year.  My 1st swarm hive of the spring had 2 and 1/2 boxes of honey, but all hives had enough for winter survival.  I found 1 beetle larvae and only a couple of beetles dead inside the hives, the most, surprisingly were in the strongest hive.

Just ordered 2 packages, I said I wouldn't but since I caught no swarms last year, I thought it would be prudent.

Crocus were in full bloom this week, they seemed lonely without the bees.  Later