Forgot to mention I got the bees in the Long Langstroth and they’ve exploded! Went from 20 frames with maybe 10 being really populated to needing 8 more. I fed them with an internal deep frame feeder because we’ve had over 2 weeks of awful rain but now they’re taking advantage of this nice week of gathering pollen. During the rainy days they were busy drawing up fresh comb. I kept these two open until I could figure where the highest traffic was coming out of, which was the center opening, and I closed off the less active opening with a grocery bag so the guard bees can do a better job against robbers and wasps and other nasties.
I have a dividing board between the frames and the empty space but I’ve left the bottom of that board cracked open so that if the bees feel like they need more comb I’ll see evidence of that on the cover boards up top, I can always transfer wild comb into a frame if I have to but I don’t want them to feel crowded and swarm.
Cody, The layens frames when full of honey are very heavy twice the wieght. I now see why they make smaller frames lol. The older I get the more I want a smaller frames of honey to remove the honey from. But you are youg and a lot stronger than me. I like my flat top Layen hives better than the A framed roof one. It is very heavy. My new ones will be haft has long too. This makes it a lot easier to move if needed. The one you built looks great.
Last fall I had my oldest hive colony leave the hive. It with on the Layens long hive with a peak roof. I will not built that kind again. Very heavy to lift.
I notice some ants around the hive and did not think much about. Today a year later I decided to do the maintenance on my hives boxes. Why? Because my other hive the bees decided to leave also.
The Yehovah Almighty God gives and He takes way as it is written in the Bible. It was strange that I did not have any swams of bees this year. I will just put out a lot more hive nukes next year for more of Yehovah’s bees, if He is willing.
Back to the modifing the layens hive box. I going to cut them in haft. So I can move them easier with my two wheel trolley cart.
Back to what happened. I started to remove the top ofthe roof and ants started coming out every where from the roof. I started opening it up and the hole ant colony had moved into the area. Millon and millons of ants it seemed like crawing all around. I moved the bottom part of the hive box away from that area.
Hoping they have not set up home there too. The other Layens hive I will be moving also. About hundred feet away. That area always seemed to have a ant problem. Where are the ants going to go? Well not back into where I found them. The good news is I do not have to winterize my hive boxes this year. Thank you Yehovah for the wonderfull honey gave us from your bees.
Looking at the insalation again, one thing I am thankful for is the ants are black small ants not the red or black and red ants that we have that bite. And really glad they are not the fire ants they have down south.
