"Hole-y" Hive

So I haven't been plagued with small hive beetle. Good news. And I don't have wax moth larvae eating my hive. But this time, when I went to inspect the hive I found a perfectly round hole through the side of my top deep. I could also hear chewing sounds coming from it. Not good. Something was eating the wood of my hive and had eaten it's way clear through the thickness of the top deep. First, I inspected the hive. I found that the bees still hadn't drawn out the rest of my frames to the degree that I had wanted. So I moved a couple of the frames that were mostly honey and pollen with just a bit of brood and put in an undrawn frame between them. Usually you shouldn't break up the brood nest, but there was so little brood on this frame that I made an exception. I also didn't see the queen, and it shouldn't bother me, but I have gotten so used to seeing the queen every time that it worried me somewhat. However, I did see eggs. So, the queen has been there within the last 3 days at least. Unfortunately, I also found some queen cells on one side of the drone frame. This may be because they drew out a portion of the frame before the others and so there frame isn't one contiguous drawn out frame. The portions of the frame that were drawn out first have what look like empty queen cells that hang from the bottom of that portion. Because this is on the side of the frame, these queen cells would not be swarm cells (they'd be supercedure cells). Supercedure is where the hive decides that the queen isn't cutting it and so they start working to replace her. I don't think anything has been laid in these cells yet. Let's hope that the queen is still there and that these aren't actual supercedure cells. I think the queen has been doing a decent job. I have noticed that she has laid some eggs in areas that are mostly honey and pollen stores, and maybe this isn't super normal. Maybe this could explain why these cells are present. Or maybe they are just-in-case.

I also wrote the year on the tops of the frames in my top deep. This will help me know how old the drawn out wax on these frames is. I forgot to do the same to the bottom deeps this time. I also removed the entrance reducer. It's been plenty warm and there are floral sources available. I don't think that robbing is much of a risk now, and I think it may be beneficial to make it easier for the bees to come and go as well as ventilate the hive. I put up a wax moth trap hanging from a tree right behind my hives. It probably wasn't necessary but it certainly won't hurt. I put in a banana peel, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar in a milk jug. I then cut a small 1 inch hole just below the part of the jug that narrows toward the pour spout. The wax moths and even hornets may fly in and then have a hard time finding the way out and drown, die.

After inspection, I grabbed some spray foam insulation (may not be bee safe, but I used only a small bit to patch the hole that the carpenter ants or made). I then poured soapy water around the hive where I've seen ants and where a small ant mound was. I then went to the store and bought 4 ant traps. I placed two underneath the hive around the ant areas. Hopefully this strikes a death blow at the ants without hurting my bees. It angers me that they'd blatantly try to eat holes in my hive. If my hive wasn't in my backyard, I'd have thought that someone came and drilled a hole in the side of my hive!