So, I think that my bees have been fighting off some small hive beetles. My hive top feeder has two holes that have been chewed out of an area that would be covered by the telescoping outer cover. Small hive beetles are known to eat wood and because it's on the outside portion, my guess, is that they started eating there to hide from the bees that would chase them out. So I ordered as Small Hive Beetle trap (Beetle Jail) we'll see how it works once I get and install it. Small hive beetles can cause tons of damage to a hive, especially if the bees are unable to keep them under control. I haven't noticed any problems within the frames yet, so I'm hoping that means that my bees aren't letting them get a foothold.
The queen has started to lay eggs in the drone comb frame. Means that possibly by next inspection I may be able to remove it to freeze the larvae. I'll have to see.
I found way to many dead bees in my hive top feeder. It was on the left side. This is the side that fermented first (or the only side that fermented). So either the bees died and drowned from drinking fermented syrup, or a bunch just decided they'd had enough of bee life. So, I removed the feeder. They've got some honey and nectar stores. My hope is that they'll make do without me feeding them. I also purchased a bucket top feeder (that drips upside down--hopefully, this will work better).
The weather today was crazy hot. Good for the garden and the bees (not wet! Hooray!) Hopefully my tomatoes will decide that they can start to grow now.
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