Bees under the feeder box.
But that is during an inspection. Most of my hives beard during an inspection, but they settle down within a few hours. Donât worry about it. You can reduce it with a slatted rack, which will also reduce the drone brood at the bottoms of your brood frames. This is the one I use, but you will need a different one if you have a 10-frame brood box:
They had started bearding on the front two or three days before but it was in the 80âs and the hive is exposed to the sun until after noon.
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Hi Dawn,
It looks like my extra brood box will come on Tuesday. When I swap it for the super, what is the easiest way to get the bees out of the Flow super. Should I pull each flow frame out and brush them onto the new box or if I set the super aside will they vacate it?
Thanks,
Mike
If there isnât much honey in there, nor many bees (frames less than 30% covered), I would just set the box on one side near the hive. The workers will make their way back. If there is a lot of honey in the box, it could create a robbing situation, so in that case my advice would be different. However, given what you have told me so far, I think that is unlikely.
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Hi Dawn,
Thought I would give you an update. The super I added in May is now over half full of honey. Now I see why people go with smaller boxes. That thing is already heavy. It has been hot all summer and I read somewhere about pulling the whiteboard from under the screen for better ventilation. The bees are definitely happier. I also have a water feature in the front yard which is used all day as a community pool (drinking station)for the girls.
The hive appears to be strong and healthy.
Thanks,
Mike
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Thank you for the update! They probably will not be able to store much more honey from now on. The main nectar flow in our region is over by this time of year. You may get some small regional flows, but without rain, there wonât be much more. Be prepared to feed if they donât have enough stores for the winter. A Varroa mite management plan is also worth thinking about at this time of year. 
Hi Dawn,
Got sidetracked on vacation and forgot to look at the forum. It is now July 27th and the super is 85% full. Was going to add the flow super this week but just read your note about nectar coming to an end. What will happen if the present super fills and I donât put my second super on? The bees seem to be as busy as ever
As far as mites, I have been using the powdered sugar treatment once a month with no detection of mites on the board under the screen. Not crazy about going with non organic options unless I have to.
Thanks as always,
Mike
Hi Mike, welcome back!
I presume you mean the second brood box? Just for clarity, a âsuperâ is a box that is intended to be used for harvesting, and will not have brood in it. It is usually above a queen excluder.
They will start backfilling the brood boxes. I might put the Flow super on (after smearing some burr comb on the frame faces), and then take it off in September. At least that way, they can get some hive scent onto it ready for next season.
Hmm, well, there is no good evidence that that is an effective treatment, but I wish you luck with it!
That is not a good way to detect mites either - horribly inaccurate. You need to do a sugar roll, or an alcohol wash, or an OAV accelerated mite drop. Anything else will not give you a real picture of what is happening.
Oxalic acid (OA) is totally organic, as is formic acid. Oxalic acid is present in almost all honey/nectar naturally, and bees make formic acid in their own bodies - it is in their stings. You can use oxalic acid as a vapor or in sponges. Formic acid comes in strips called MAQS, but you need to be careful about the temperature - if it is too hot, bees will die.
Your choice, and your bees, but I would hate to see your hive die out over winter because they had an unnoticed Varroa infestation⌠
Hi Dawn,
You make good points I wasnât aware of. I have the test kit and will check it out.
So what about the second brood box that is 85%. Donât add the super? Didnât expect honey this year anyway but what happens when the second brood box fills.
Thanks,
Mike
Just reread your postâŚ.you answered my question.
Thanks,
Mike
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Hi Dawn,
Ok , I was planning on doing the powder sugar sifter tonight so before we did that, my son and I did the sugar roll test on a brood frame in the lower box. Gathering the 1/2 cup of bees for the first time was like a couple monkeys wrestling a football. I had my gear on but my bees have been great to work with so I had shorts on and disposable gloves. They got a little antsy and started banging my legs.
Anyway, I did the sugar roll test and got one mite and one beetle. My beetle traps have a few in them and seem to be working well. Will test again in mid August. I am holding off on the super and check the top brood box weekly.
thanks,
Mike
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I am proud of you, well done! Your plan sounds good. 
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Thanks for the positive comments. Lots to learn.
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Hi Dawn,
So my son and I went to do a mite test with sugar roll and almost tipped over the hive because comb and honey had bonded the two brood boxes together. When we finally got the two separated we had quite a honey mess. Didnât see any mites in the test. Dusted top and bottom with powdered sugar.
The top brood box is full of honey except for the two outside sides of the end frames. Planning on taking out the frames from the top box and scrapping the comb off the bottom so that I donât have a repeat of the fusion of the two boxes.
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Hi @richard55 - I just moved into the Gilroy area and Iâd love to know more about how your Flow Hive is doing and the rest of your girls too! I was looking at the horizontal hives as well. If you are interested in connecting, please reach out!
Hi Dawn,
Sent my last message to myself by mistake last month. So everything was going pretty good except we had a honey mess when all the frames were full and honey has continued to come in, even into October. I finally pulled a middle frame in the second box and threw it in the freezer and put a new frame in. The bees are working on it and there are about thirty cells with uncapped honey.
I did a sugar roll test and found five mites. I did an oxalic vaporization treatment and found 100 mites. Decided to do two more treatments at five day intervals and found approximately 100 each for the next two treatments. Should I continue treatments or let the bees rest up. Evidently my sugar roll tests over the last few months werenât as accurate as I thought.
What are you thoughts?
Thanks,
Ike
Found 100 mites when? Exactly 24 hours after the vapor, or 5 days later? If it was 24 hours, I would repeat the vapor every 5 days until you get less than 25. If it was 5 days, I would repeat the vapor once and count at 24 hours after.
All three counts were after 36 hours as I read that mites can continue to die for up to three days.
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I understand. The reason for asking was that the only âaccelerated mite dropâ count that I know has been tried and tested was done in the UK. A number of 25 mites after 24 hours was set as the threshold for adequate treatment. In my previous experience, it can take up to 7 treatments to reach this level, if your hives are heavily infested. I would continue, but do the counts at 24 hours if you want to know when to stop
