With open mesh floors there is no need to ensure there is a flow of moist air coming out of the entrance. Place the queen excluder, after cleaning, beneath the floor.
Now check to see how many seams of bees there are between the frames. You can use a cover to help keep any warmth in hive. Estimate how much honey is stored in the brood box and super. Second and third year queens will probably have stopped laying. If there are some patches of sealed brood then you know the queen is still there. If they are queenless they are ‘active’ and will let you know. If your colony is queenless then you must unit them with a strong colony. (Check for disease).
Autumn Uniting.
A full healthy stock of bees should cover at least 6 frames of comb at the end of August. The colonies to be untied need to be close together. If one queen is better, not necessarily younger, find the less productive queen and remove her. Go to the stronger colony at dusk and cover the tops of the brood box with newspaper. Prick a few tiny holes in the paper. Take the weak colony and place it on the brood box of the strong colony. Eventually the bees will chew through the paper and amalgamate. Leave for about five days and the rearrange the hive by removing the top brood box and if there are frames of brood in the box, then transfer them to the box below. Remove all unwanted equipment.
Autumn feeding.
Starvation is one of the major causes of colony loss during winter. We need to feed or ensure they have at least 35lb. of sealed stores. I use a full super of honey which has been produced by the same colony. If you have to feed the bees, this will excite the bees and send foragers out looking for the source of food. This can start off robbing of other hives. Consequently all feeding should be done in the evening. It is advisable to feed all colonies at the same time.
Having taken a sample of bees for testing for Nosema, and it is a ‘positive’ result, and then add the treatment prescribed for Nosema into the syrup.
