Tetra Bee

Sprinkled more Tetra Bee (4 tbls) on the frame edges of the brood nest today. Should've done it Friday, but it was cold with rain which turned to snow. Not going to open the hive and chill the bees. Today was sunny and 50ish so they got themselves medicated. Really a strong and thriving hive. Little do they know I ordered a new queen from Bee Weaver Apiaries. They're just too hard to work with their nasty, aggressive ways. A hot hive to be sure.

Dead Bees and Live Bees

The Italian hive is dead. R.I.P. I knew they weren't strong enough to make it until spring, but on a warm Valentines day they were active and out on cleansing flights. Last Sunday--84 and very warm here--I saw no activity although the Buckfast bees were out in force. I pulled the Buckfast hive apart and medicated with Tetra Bee. They are still feisty so I have a new queen on order for delivery May 11, but all was well and they looked very strong. I shot some video of these guys but formatted the card before downloading the files. DOH!

I pulled apart the Italian hive and scraped out all the dead bees. I'm going to keep it as an empty spare in case the Buckfast hive swarms again seeing as they are full of honey and new brood. Dead hive photos below: