I did a 48+ hour sticky board check –
all three hives appeared to be mite-free. Here’s hoping they stay
that way until we figure out a good mite-prevention strategy.
Well, I did it. Combined Polly and
Deanne today, after seeking advice. Now both are in the polystyrene
hive, with the original Polly on the bottom. The upper polystyrene
box was almost empty with undrawn foundation (bottom box was full of
bees and honey), so I removed the box, then removed the frames and
shook any bees out onto the landing board. Before replacing the box,
I placed a single sheet of newsprint over the lower box and sprayed
it liberally with vanilla. I then removed the brood frames from the
wooden Deanne hive and placed them in the upper polystyrene box.
There was enough drawn foundation in the Deanne hive to fill the rest
of the box (I also replaced two frames in the bottom box that hadn’t
been drawn out), ensuring that there would be drawn comb in which the
bees would be able to store honey once I start feeding. I did not
look for or kill any queens, as I am not sure that either hive had a
good queen. So, let the strongest one survive, or rather, the one
that survives being killed by the other hive’s workers. I will look
at the hive again in two days. If I cannot find a queen, we will go
ahead and requeen.
So, now we officially have two hives,
Alistair and Polly.
I added a jar of
2:1 syrup to both of the hives. This should keep them going while the
combined hive sorts itself out, and hopefully, will keep Alistair
from robbing. We will keep this up until the hive top feeders are
made and we can feed them more in a shorter period of time, forcing
them to store the excess.
Within a few minutes of finishing, dark
clouds started to roll in – done just in time!
~JoAnne
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