Hive Inspection 5/6/12

Mary, Myrina, QC, Nuc #5, Heléna, Nuc #6, Nuc'd Swarm
72°F
Cloudy
Calm

Myrina has not moved up into new medium box yet.  Gave her another gallon of 1:1 syrup. 

Mary has lots of eggs and pretty brood patterns.  She's really coming back online.

Queen Castle (2nd) still has two capped Queen cells.  Added more 1:1 syrup.

Queen Castle (1st) received a frame from Nuc # 5 with several large capped Queen cells and a honey & nectar frame.  Added 1:1 syrup

Nuc # 5 may no longer be Queenless.  Some eggs were found on a frame in top box.  The bottom box had a frame with Queen cells.  The frame and another honey frame were placed in the QC.  Lots of bees.  'Boiling' behavior observed.

Heléna is Post Swarm.  Her top Honey super remains undrawn.  It was removed.  One Honey super is still on about half drawn out.  It was placed between both brood boxes.  Her population is good in spite of the swarm.  Other than a hatched Swarm cell a hatched Supersedure cell was found.  Bees making more Supersedure cells.  Some 'Boiling' behavior.

Nuc #6 has seven torn down Swarm cells and a hatched Supersedure cell.  She also has TWO queens.  The old white marked one & the new virgin one.  The old queen is still laying her butt off.  High population.

Nuc'd Swarm is loaded with Laying workers.  Some drone sized cells may have had fifteen to twenty eggs in them.  No Queen was found though they have drawn out all five frames.  These bees will be dumped out in front of my Neighbors weak hive this week.  It is gone, done, finis.

Plan to inspect Melissa in a day or two.

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Hive Inspection 4/2/12

All Hives (six)
65°F
Sunny
Calm

Didn't mean to do them all but that's the way it goes sometimes.  It has been almost a month during an early Spring since we last looked in the bees.  Not a good idea but we have been terribly busy around here; did i mention we have chickens now?

Melissa has six brood frames in the top box and four in the bottom box.  Good brood pattern and a high population.  The bees are calm.  Saw Wax Moth larva in the detritus below the screened bottom board; that's a new one.  The moth larva posed NO danger to the hive and were fed to the chickens.  The bees finished off the last gallon of syrup.  The feeder was removed and a partially filled Honey Super from last season was added.  In a day or so an undrawn Super will be added as well.  Did not see the Queen but plenty of fresh eggs.

Nuc #6 (Gumption) also had a Moth larva under the Screened Bottom Board.  That too was cleaned out.  Her bees have not yet begun to draw out the new Medium brood box.  They have, however, finished their syrup.  The population is good but her productivity is low.  There is a Supersedure cell being drawn out on frame #5.  I left it in.  The bees know best.  It wasn't planned but her still empty new brood box was hastily donated to Nuc # 5.  I'll make her two new ones this week.

Nuc #5 (Mab) is on fire when it come to making bees.  The three week old New brood box was fully drawn & filled with capped brood, drone cells, pollen, & honey.  The best looking Spring frames i've ever seen.

All five new frames, front & back

The population is still heavy now that they have used up the new box.  As previously mentioned i borrowed the empty box from Nuc #6 to give this one room.  However, it is to late!

OOPS! First Swarm Cell of 2012.  Three weeks in a new undrawn box

The Queen cell was cut out and placed in Myrina who needs to be requeened anyway.  Many believe that once the Swarm cell is capped the bees will swarm no matter what.  I've done this before without the bees swarming so i hope to do it again. As soon as these bees fill up the new box they will be hived in a regular medium two box hive.  The feeder is still on and they'll get some more syrup.  So i'm guessing two more weeks.

Heléna has twelve of twenty frames filled with brood.  Her population is high and getting higher fast.  The Queen was in the bottom box as the top box was full.  So her feeder is gone replaced by a drawn honey super.  More Wax moth under the Bottom board but they were handled.  The brood frames are picture perfect.  Sadly it was late and too dark to get the image.

Mary is a surprise in non-productivity with only four of twenty frames having brood.  Her population is only fair with very little Drone comb.  The top box is practically honey bound.  So i will spin several frames to give them room to grow.  If she doesn't take to it she'll be requeened.  Her feeder came off too, but she hadn't finished the syrup in it anyway.

Myrina has only taken half of her syrup.  The population is fair with only three of ten frames in brood.  A Wax moth was found in the hive on a frame; one worm which was dispatched.  This colony is Very weak.  She began the downward spiral last Summer.  Then entered Winter diminished.  She got through Winter but she's going nowhere fast.  To remedy that the Swarm Cell from Nuc #5 was placed in this hive (frame 5) After i pinched Queen Myrina.  I'll check the hive again in a few days.  The Queen Cell was capped and due to hatch soon.

Note the Spotty brood of the previous Queen

This weekend i'll make a few more brood boxes and sufficient frames.  I'll put more undrawn Honey Supers on Malissa & Heléna too.

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Fumagilin & Screened Bottom Boards

Today the colonies received their last treatment of Fumagilin.  Fumagilin-b is an antibiotic that controls the disease Nosema, or bee dysentery.  The disease usually occurs during Winter while the bees are unable to release bodily waste each day.  The weather is too cold for the bees to fly outside to relieve themselves.  So they stay in the cluster and must hold it in for months sometimes.  If they get Nosema the bees can no longer hold it in and can make a big mess inside the hive.  Plus the stress of the disease can weaken the colony and lead to it's demise. 

In Fall each full hive gets 2 gallons of medicated syrup per twenty frames.  Last week they all got their first gallon.  Two colonies were given only one gallon since they are only ten frames in size; Myrina & Nuc #5.  The Fumagilin is put in a heavy sugar syrup, 2:1 sugar to water.  That's eight pounds of sugar in about two quarts of water.

Crystallized sugar after one gallon of 2:1 syrup

This time of year the bees will take it down in one to two days.  There is some crystallization of the sugar in the Hive Top Feeder.  To fix that i toss a quart of warm water into the feeder afterward.  It dissolves the sugar and the bees then take it down too.

Also it's time to close all the Screened Bottom Boards (SBB).  Some beeks leave them open but i close mine.  I think it helps the bees brood lower in the hive.  Slatted Racks aid that as well.  Myrina's SBB was replaced with a regular BB with a solid bottom.  Mary & Nuc #5 also have the solid BB now.  Heléna & Melissa both have the closed off SBB.  As does that little September swarm i haven't been talking about.

The next steps toward Winterization will be the final Varroa check & treatment if necessary.

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Hive Inspection 9/22/11

MARY
Mostly Cloudy
74°F
 
Mary doesn't seem to have any problems but it has been a while since she has been inspected.  Mary is one of two colonies i had going into 2011.  She produced honey and has not been combined with anyone.

Top Box DHB2: frames
1 - Solid honey
2 - Solid honey
3 - Good brood & honey ring, a few drone cells
4 - Good brood & honey ring, a few drone cells
5 - Eggs, brood & honey ring
6 - Brood & honey ring
7 - Brood & honey ring
8 - Empty brood & honey ring
9 - Back filling with Nectar
10 - Solid honey

Bottom Box DHB1: frames
1 - Mostly honey
2 - Mostly honey
3 - ½ Honey, ½ pollen
4 - Mostly empty, some brood & honey
5 - Some brood, pollen, honey
6 - Some eggs & brood, pollen, honey
7 - Pollen
8 - ½ honey
9 - Mostly honey
10 - Mostly honey

Her population seemed OK but not great.  I also counted 4 SHB's; all of which were killed.   Her stores need to be better.  Feeding should fix that.  Next month switches to 2:1 syrup from the 1:1 I'm using now.  More sugar and less water.  All the colonies will get Fumagilin next month too.

I didn't see the queen but there were fresh eggs.  I would like to see tons more eggs though.  For some reason this colony isn't producing much stores or brood.  We'll keep on eye on them.

The HTF was filled with ants again.  Not an issue but an annoyance.

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First Fall Feeding

The remaining colonies received their first feeding of the Fall today.  Last year there were only two colonies to feed this year there are five.  So i made five gallons of syrup which isn't cheap.  We paid around 58¢ per pound for this sugar.  Since we made 1:1 syrup we used 30lbs. of it, or $17.40 worth.  We plan to only feed once a week until the bees have ample reserves. More if the colony is having trouble.

The syrup for this batch was just sugar and no Bee Tea.  I did add a Tbsp of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar to it along with a drop of White Thyme & Peppermint Oils each.  The bees took to it immediately. 

I want to keep the top entrances in this Winter (via the Imirie shims) but i took them out for the feedings.  The entrance would be up against the HTF's and would likely cause robing.  I'll put then back on once feeding season is done; Late November or December.

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Heléna - the Forth Hive

The Package showed up on Thursday the 5th.  Today they were hived without any problems.  The bees seem to have accepted their new queen.  She came unmarked.  I'll mark her in a few weeks after they've settled in.  for now the bees are taking to the hive well enough.  They were making orientation flights as soon as i poured then into the hive.

Heléna being Hived

It would have been better to hive them tomorrow but rain is in the forecast.  These bees were starved though.  When I poured the syrup into the HTF they all but swarmed the syrup.  It took a few minutes to get the bees out of the HTF just to close it.

Typically one is supposed to feed the bees Fumagilin at this stage to fend off Nosema (dysentery).  I want to back away from all these chemical treatments so i didn't.  They had Apple Cider Vinegar and Thyme oil added to the syrup instead.  Those will help with both Nosema & Varroa without being too harsh.  If i don't see any signs of Nosema I'll not use the Fumagilin at all.  So far no colony has been given any this year.

This hive is all foundationless.  They should draw it out faster so they will have brood sooner, so everyone tells me anyhow. 

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Beginning to Worry

Here we are again at the start of another honey season and these bees have yet to draw out any honey comb.  This has been the biggest problem over the past several years.  I don't know what i'm doing wrong but something ain't right!

Today i looked at the honey supers to see a bunch of bees sitting around doing nothing.  The supers have been on for several weeks now.  Plenty of time to draw the comb out.  They just wont do it.  I've used Plasticell, Foundationless, and now Crimped wire.  I've sprayed the frames with sugar syrup and feed the bees with even more syrup.  I'm about at wits end.

At the moment the honey supers are foundationless.  Today i replaced 3 frames in each super.  One with 3 semi-drawn Plasticell frames and the other with 3 undrawn Crimped wire frames..  All frames were then sprayed with sugar syrup.

Wish me luck!

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Feeding for Comb

The Honey Supers have been on for several weeks now and haven't been drawn out yet.  In an attempt to get the bees to start drawing out comb i fed them 1:1 syrup yesterday.  Since there is no honeycomb i'm not worried about adulterated honey just yet.  The syrup continues to have Apple Cider Vinegar put in it; 1 tbsp per gallon.  I'm also adding a drop of 'pure' Thyme oil to each gallon. 

I checked the feeder late yesterday.  The bees were all over the syrup.  If they stay on it i'll continue to give it to them.

I'll give Nuc1 & 2 a pint each of syrup today as well.  Nuc 1 has no brood at all and Nuc 2 has little larva left.  Either way the bees don't need as much food as a colony with tons of brood.  I noticed the bees in Nuc 1 aren't flying as much as the 2 nucs with larva.  When i looked in Nuc 1 the other day i didn't see much in the way of stores either.  I want to make sure there are enough stores in the hive when the Queen starts laying again.  Though I wont be adding pollen patties.  They don't take to patties when there is real pollen available.  So i wont waste money on that.

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Bee Tea & the Venting Issue

Are the bees going for the Bee/Tea syrup?  Well, I don't know yet, but don't take that the wrong way.  Typically the maples break the pollen & nectar fast for the bees.  At the same time we beeks like to start feeding the bees 1:1 sugar syrup.  It supplements their diet and helps them brood up in early Spring.  Which I have done.  The bees however aren't bothering with the syrup very much.  It has been on them for nine days and they have only taken half of it, maybe.  

It seems right now the Maple flow is amazing.  The mature trees are blooming on consecutive days instead of all at once.  This gives the bees a prolonged flow & pollen source.  The trees that bloomed first have been picked dry and are now closer to seed growth.  While more large trees are breaking bloom each day or so.

Might the Tea be another bad idea.  I had thawed a bunch of full honey frames for the last inspection; in case the bees needed a resupply of honey.  Once they thawed out the tray they were on and the deep they were in  became covered in dripping honey.  Today was warm so i put the tray outside for the bees to clean off.  In fact i placed it between the two hives to guarantee they would find it.  Well, this is what that tray looked like six hours later...

Empty Buffet Line !?

Where are the bees?  Not on the free honey!  In fact we found them on a large Red Maple that had bloomed this morning.  My neighbor & I stood beneath her tree and could hear the actual buzzing of the bees; all four hives worth.  Remember she has two as well.  I remembered that bees will locate a major source and stay with it while skipping other minor sources.  Also that bees prefer Nectar to Honey. 

So I can't tell if the bees like the Tea.  They're taking it slowly which is more than what they are doing to the free honey.  Does that count?  When I open fed them the Tea before the bloom started they were all over it.  That's all I know for now.

They're always on it but not many

 I did finally find a way to clean up the spilled honey on the tray and on the deep those frames were in.  I'm glad it wasn't wasted...

Look who came to help

☼   ☼   ☼

The Ventilation issue still confuses me.  The hive, Myrina, has never had a moisture problem.  Yet, here she is with water practically running off the t-cover.  What i did was add Another Vent Box atop the one she already had.  It looks like this.

Note how much Tea/syrup is still left

The added VB is a Summer version with nine holes.  I changed to VB's with fewer holes last year going into Winter, hence the one with only three.  This did clear up the condensation problem.  I still don't know why it happened.  What I do know:

1. The cluster is directly beneath the HTF
2. The t-cover is new to the hive but used and a year old
3. The Tea/Syrup seems to have a thinner consistency than syrup
4. The other hive has the same setup but no problem

If this continues again in the Fall I will be upset.  I thought I had the Ventilation problem licked but apparently not.  More reading!

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Water on the T-Cover

The Bees flew today and I wanted to get a glimpse at whether the bees were taking the Tea/Syrup.  After work I went down and lifted off the t-covers.  Mary had a few bees up in the HTF and the level hadn't changed much. 

The t-cover on Myrina surprised me.  As I lifted it off several ounces of water ran on to the ground like a faucet had been turned on.  Startled i turned it over to examine it.  The underside was saturated.  Fortunately the cover is waxed but nothing is waterproof.  No swelling of the wood but a green & black mildew were acutely present. 

Another problem is the condensation dripping into the HTF is infecting the tea/syrup with the mildew/mold.  A couple of mold spots the size of quarters were floating on the surface.  This poor hive is loaded with the rotten mildew above & below (recall the last post).

The HTF's and tea/syrup went in the hives last Friday.  So all of this happened since then.  Mary was fine.  Her t-cover is homemade and the top piece of wood is 3/4" plywood.  Myrina's t-cover is purchased and it's top board is only 1/4" fleck board.  Big differences in insulation value.  Both HTF's are jacketed by wood shims with 3 - 1.25" holes in them for ventilation, and it's been very windy.  I can't believe there isn't enough ventilation.

Both populations are near the same and the queens are sisters so I dont thinks it's behavior.  We are in the initial Spring Flow with lots of Maple nectar coming in to cure.  I'm not sure why this is happening.

I wiped off the excess water on the inside of the t-cover.  It was too late in the day to do much.  All i did was place tin foil over the HTF shims (Vent Box) and put the t-cover back on.  There will still be condensation but this will keep it off the wood.  We are expecting a bunch of rain tomorrow night.  Hopefully I figure things out tomorrow and get it done before the rain starts.

I don't think any water is getting on the bees from under the HTF.  I believe all the condensation is above it.  Also i noticed only a few bees taking the the tea/syrup in Myrina.  Yesterday was to cold for the bees to fly.  I figured they might be taking the tea/syrup instead.  Today was a Fly Day but not a warm one at 47°F.  Thought they may still be interested in the tea/syrup.

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Bee Tea

With Spring comes early feeding with 1:1 sugar syrup.  Last year i first read about bee tea.  Essentially a brewed/steeped tea made from anything good for bees.  To promote health mainly.  One can either add it to the syrup or sweeten it with a little sugar and feed it separately from the syrup.  Many use essential oils in the tea.  I'm not a fan of essential oils, however.  The Tea is a way i can add nutrition to the sugar syrup without blasting the hive away with lemon grass oil or the like.  Lets face it sugar syrup is like feeding your kids nothing but soda pop.  The bees love the sugar but I'd like them to get more out of it.

As far as I'm concerned the ingredients for this recipe should change depending on what sources of nectar are naturally available.  This way the tea reflects what the bees are looking for.  I assume Maples bloom in Spring because they have what bees need the most in Spring. (Evolved over millions & millions of years)  It may be a leap for some but it who am i to second guess nature.
 
Therefore at this time the tea is made of whatever blooms first in this area:  Willow, Maple, Elm, Cherry, Pear, Plum, Sassafras, & Red Bud.  I also added two primary flow sources: Yellow Poplar & Basswood, but any combination will do.  This week the recipe is Maple, Poplar, & Basswood.  Next week will be Willow, Elm, Red Bud, & Poplar.  I'm very leery of giving a tea made from Sassafras to the bees since it is a known psychoactive.  A sprig of Thyme and 2 tbs of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar are also added per gallon.  These can help with Varroa & Nosema plus the ACV keeps the syrup from spoiling.

Unsure of all this an experiment was in order.  I made a syrup/tea and a non-syrup/tea out of Yellow Poplar and set it out for the bees.  The bees hit the syrup as one would expect.  Alright, so I know they will take it, that's good.  They also did a good job on the non-syrup/tea.  They about hit it as hard.  So it looks like this might work.  Now to make some tea...

The procedure:
First i collect wood rounds from the target woody plants with a chainsaw.  Disks of a ½" in thickness are good.  I cut them from saplings so there is no heartwood present.  Heartwood is where a tree places it's metabolic wastes.  Small saplings will not have accumulated enough yet.

2 Rounds of each species per gallon.  Maple & Poplar

Second i remove the bark.  The inner wood, called xylem, transports liquids and material up into a tree.  The nectar that is found in a tree flower has gotten there via this tissue.  Bark, called phloem, transports nutrients down to the roots.  Since bees feed from flowers not roots I'll go with the xylem.

Use Caution cutting green wood with a ban saw

Then the debarked rounds get cut up into small bits to increase surface area.

All 4 rounds

There are only 2 Basswoods that I know of around here and neither one am i willing to harm.  Fortunately the local health food store has a great selection of 'Frontier' herbs which include dried Basswood flowers.  A half ounce cost $0.35.  Plus they have lots of other things I'll be adding at some point.  So I divided it and put each half in 1 gallon.  After all I'm feeding 2 colonies so I'll need 2 gallons.

Not fresh but they still had a fragrance

The last ingredient this week was the Thyme.  My Wife grows it on the back deck so what i have is freshly picked.  I took what i thought might equal a drop or two of essential oil.

The tea smells like sausage???

Once the ingredients are ready i put the water in the pot.  To make a total gallon of 1:1 syrup i start with 2qts & 15oz. of water.  The water is then heated to between 150°F - 165°F.  (This is the steeping range used for grains when brewing beer; which i do.  It is important to not exceed 170°F because tannins begin to leech into the water at that point and above.)  Once the water is above 150°F I toss in all the ingredients.  Then reduce the heat enough to keep the water in the temperature range.  Steep for 40 minutes.  Stir little or not at all.

Near 170°F i took the pot off the burner to cool it down some

After 40 minutes remove from heat and strain.  I first ladle out the big chunks then strain the rest through a paper towel.

Strained Tea

Then i measure the tea back into the rinsed pot.  Some water will have evaporated during the steep.  Replace that water to get back to the original amount.  Now place back on heat and bring to a near boil.  Remove from heat and add the 6 lbs. of sugar and stir.  The tea/syrup will be clear again in a few minutes.  After which I add 2 tablespoons of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar to each gallon.  Stir, let cool and give to bees.

My plan is to give the bees a gallon of syrup each week,  When they've finished it I'll give then a strait tea with no sugar for the rest of the week.  I'll post the results, hopefully good ones, soon.

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Inspection 10/24/10

Duchess
75 f
Sunny


It took longer than it should have but today i finally got into Duchess.  She has seemed more productive than the other two all year.  From her constant wax production to always having more bees flying at any given time.  If this colony can get through Winter than I hope for much honey from her next year.  She's more defensive than Myrina & Mary now that those two have been requeened.  Not at first but after going through a box of frames she can take to head butting.  She is in no way a problem fortunately.

OOPS! - She would have had her last gallon of treated syrup in her HTF today if I hadn't screwed up.  I made it Friday night the 22nd.  On Saturday I went to put it out but it had begun to crystallize already.  So I place the pot back on the burner and set it for medium heat.  I thought after ten or so minutes it would be back to all liquid and good to go.  Sadly I became distracted.  When I finally got back to it the syrup had been boiling for some time.  What a waste.  So I dumped the syrup out.  I had to now that it was toxic.  Four dollars worth of sugar and a teaspoon worth of Fumagilin-B.  I'm still mad at me.  What a dope!  I do not have enough Fumagilin left to make even a single extra gallon of syrup.  So Duchess will  not get her second gallon.  She's the only colony i have that's not had Nosema.  If one of them is going to get only a half dose than it's best to be her.

Ask me how well it worked come March?

Anyway the HTF did have the crystallized remains of the first gallon.  So, afterward, I added a quart of warm water to it.  Thirty minutes after the inspection was over the girls were flying in the typical sugar shock frenzy that follows the addition of syrup. 

Top Box Frames:
10. Full capped honey - 2010 CW
 9.  Full capped honey - 2010 CW
 8.  Full capped honey, back fill - 2010 CW
 7.  Full capped honey, back fill - 2010 CW
 6.  Full capped honey, back fill - 2010 CW
 5.  Full capped honey, some brood cells - 2010 CW
 4.  Full capped honey, some pollen - 2010 CW
 3.  Full capped honey - 2010 CW
 2.  Full capped honey - 2010 CW
 1.  Full capped honey - 2010 CW

Bottom Box Frames:
10. Drawn incomplete empty - 2010 Plasticell
 9.  Drawn incomplete empty - 2010 Plasticell
 8.  1/4 pollen - 2010 Plasticell
 7.  Minor pollen, depleted - 2010 CW
 6.  1/2 Brood - 2010 Plasticell
 5.  1/2 Brood, some pollen - 2010 Plasticell
 4.  1/2 Brood - 2010 Plasticell
 3.  1/2 Brood, Queen Cup - 2010 Plasticell
 2.  1/2 Brood, 1/4 pollen, 1/4 honey - 2010 Plasticell
 1.  Some honey, some pollen - 2010 Plasticell

I could not find the Queen.  I also didn't see any eggs since I forgot to put my glasses on before I started.  I did see some very young larva though.

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 Extra wax, wrong place

Lots of bur comb on the top of the frames in the bottom box.  I scraped it all away including the propolis on the frame rests.  All the extra wax and still some of the Plasticell frames were unfinished.  They started out in the first box and yet, several of the outer frames were not drawn out completely.  The more I see the more I don't like it.  The Queen cup was well developed but nothing inside it.  

Frame 10, Initial hive box

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I pulled the SBB and cleaned beneath the hive as well.  The same critters were under this hive as the others.  Wasps & spiders.  It's not a problem but after a whole season it builds up more than I had thought.  The Mud Wasps kept to the hive stand.  They were easy to remove.  The spiders had webbed up under the hive like there would be no tomorrow.

 Mud Wasps

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 Many egg cases

The worst part of that being the type of spider.  Black Widows are docile creatures I have no problem with.  Except for the fact they could severely harm my kids; and mess me up too.  So she gets mashed every time i find her.  I thought the wood pile was bad but I've found more by the bees.

Charlotte

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I previously mentioned the portables hive stands.  Nothing more than 4 pieces of wood screwed together.  Yet, they're great for keeping the bottom of a box off the ground; no grass, leaves, or smashed bees.  There never seems to be enough space on the regular stand so these are handy.  First they were used to move the hives to the new spot; 2 feet at a time.  Now they are a spot to put a top box while I'm in the lower box doing whatever.  There will be more uses in the future i'm sure.

Portable stand & quiet box

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Last, we hit the high 30's this last week for nightly lows.  Frosts are coming.  So today I closed the SBB's in Myrina & Duchess.  Mary only has a solid BB.  I used a piece of luan cut to fit beneath Myrina's hive and slide into the back of Duchess's SBB.  Myrina's is a simple one I bought from Dadant.  Nothing fancy like rear access mite check boards.  So she had to bee lifted to put it on.  Duchess has a homemade one that does have the mite check board.  Her's slid into the back.  This leaves the main entrance as the bottom vent for Winter.  The vent boxes I use release the air up top.

*

Wax Moth & Mary

At 60+ degrees today I went into both hives to remove the HTF's. Lots of crystallized syrup. I broke it up on to a cookie sheet & left it for the bees. However, in Mary I found 4 frames infected with Wax moth. 2 frames in the top box & the 2 adjacent frames in the bottom box. The frames had pollen & some uncapped honey. The frames had to go into the freezer; which would leave a substantial hole in the hive. So I broke Mary down to a 1 brood box hive. All I had left to do was pick the 6 additional frames to remove. I left Mary with 5 honey frames, 2 pollen frames, & 3 brood frames. She has a smaller population so the 1 deep should be better. It may be that she had too small a population for the 2 deeps leading to the wax moth problem anyway. When I checked her 4 weeks ago I saw NO Wax moth. I thought After a few freezes I wouldn't need to worry about Wax moth any more. Oh well...

Wax Moth web & frass ^
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Wax Moth mining pollen ^
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Wax Moth webbing ^
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Mary with 1 deep & the crystallized syrup ^

Myrina looked fine with a good population and plenty of reserves. I also closed off 6 of the 9 holes in each of the vent covers on both hives. 3 holes should be enough to vent the humid bee breath. I'll monitor for condensation throughout winter.