We had a very informative meeting with 28 members in attendance.
The pros and cons of top and bottom feeding were discussed. However most agreed packages should be fed however you choose to feed.
Once your packages have been in the hive from 7-10 days check to make sure you see signs of the queen. Don't forget to makes sure the queen is out of the cage around day 3. Eggs are the best sign (if you can see them) but at least make sure you have some larva. Careful when removing your frames not to hurt your queen. Several members are using frame holders on the side of the hive body to hold frames off the ground.
One member mentioned how frames may become pollen bound in spring and not leave room for laying. He replaces those frames with new ones. The removed frames were then placed in a solar wax melter.
This led to the discussion on how to clean frames of extracted honey. It was suggested that you could stack several supers of frames on a hive and let the bees clean them. Leaving the frames left out for the bees to clean was not recommend because it could promote robbing and cause comb damage. One suggestion was to have a clean up hive of bees away from you bee yard.
Start adding those supers!!
See you in May.
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