Thanks. They have morning and evening sun with afternoon shade. In winter will have sun all day

Better pics off my wife’s phone…..

This is so cool.

That looks awesome Jes!!!!! Good job on the project…..

I started with the glass jar feeders like that and quickly went to buckets up top, when those girls are hitting the syrup they’ll have you filling them every couple days. Something to keep in mind moving forward but I’m just a dumb redneck bee rookie so take that with a grain of salt.

Thank you Sir! This is the hive setup I received from the guy I brought my bees from. They were hitting it pretty hard already. He said inside feeding helps prevent robbing whereas outside feeding can promote it. Still all very new to me and I have a long learning curve to go.

He’s saying that because of the “bearding” (bees collecting outside the hive) like they are in your photo.

That usually means they are having a hard time cooling the hive. Mine were bearding really heavily so I added a super and put nickels between the boxes at the corners on the back end. I will use popsicle sticks next time. They quit bearding completely when I did this.

With regard to feeding. If you’ll add an empty box on top of your inner cover you can put 4 jars of 1:1 sugar water in the hive. Just place 2 1x2 inch boards in there to stand them on upside down. Then of course place your top outer cover on top.

Checked the bee tree we moved to the garden this spring. Thoughts about when we should try to move them into a box?

Building comb outside the tree…

Also considering putting a piece of R panel over the tree and strap it down to the frame to give them more shelter

I’d attempt to get them in a box as soon as possible myself so they can be cared for properly and easier to maintain. I’ve learned a lot of hard valuable lessons this year already and the number one thing being pest/varmint control. I’m sure somebody with a lot more knowledge than me will chime in but the comb outside the tree will eventually be a target for a skunk and they’ll need to be treated for mites eventually since those things are a pain in the rear.

If you can place a hive with an interior feeder on the frame the tree is on,or very close, use a piece of wood for a bridge from the old to new. They will possibly move in if it's a better home. Or raise a queen and swarm. I'm thinking you don't have filled out frames to spare yet, but the foundation wax will kick in the instinct to build comb.
They can fly of course, but a bridge to walk may move them like a swarm does when the queen is hived.
I had fourteen hives at one time, decades ago. Mites weren't as prevalent then. My job started taking up all of my time, so the bees went to a better home.

Looks awesome Jess and welcome to the bee money pit amigo!

Would agree with the fellas on the feeders, 1 gal buckets are easier to maintain, just clean out the mold when you refill. 1 tbsp of bleach per gal of syrup will help with mold buildup. I have some hives on qt jars (small hives) and most on 1 gal buckets with seal-able lids. You want to get 2" or so top lid plugs, the use 2" commercial screen feed holes, or tint plugs (ones used in 5 gal paint buckets). Ste up this way you dont have to remove the lids to fill or clean, just pull the plugs, removing the lids every week and the seal will wear out.
Your guy did you good with the holes offset as well, most of mine are, this is to keep over fill, or over drip from running down where the queen and brood generally is, hive centerish.

And don't assume they are mite free, because they are not, so keep that in mind.

I like the idea of adding a box, just remember we are in the tail end of the season, they may not be as inclined to expand, but you can encourage it by feeding pollen patties and 1;1 syrup for some time. Generally we feed 2;1 late to allow them to store up resources for over winter get it dried and capped before cold weather, just need the right aged bees to produce enough wax.

If they are 80% built out, and building, they need another box, you're kind of in a tricky time of year, Bees generally do better a bit crowded as well, so 80% is the general rule you will hear. You can always down size going in to fall if you feel they will do better.

As far as the hive in the tree, I'd already have cut them out. did the same thing at a custom log home builders lot, they had bees in bull mesquite that they had trucked in from sw texas. Cut wide and just work thru it slowly looking for the queen or sign of her, they will ball up or congregate around her. Have a box set and ready to go, carefully cut the brood comb, and place it in an empty frame and use large rubber bands to hold it in, make sure they are orientated the same way they where, cells are slightly angled up. Comb with honey you can place in a clean bucket and keep for yourself

Shake as many bees as you can in with the brood combs you've placed in the new hive, if all the bees focused on the set up, you likly have the queen in the box, if not, look for congregating bees and pick up as many as you can gently and drop them in.

This time of year tho, you may start robbing frenzy and those bees may be a tad defensive, so smok'em like hell and move calmly as possible.

Make sure to make a video!

Sorry for the long response

jess, pollen patties wouldn't hurt if you want buildup and pollen dearth is there, it is here already. Just use small amounts at a time and monitor for hive beetles. You can note a short supply of pollen when looking thru the hives,

Open feeding Mann lake Ultra bee pollen sub in coffee cans, they are taking about 3lbs a day as all sources here are burned up. Trying to replaced numbers and getting ready to build strong winter bees soon.

“Mites Lives Don’t Matter”

Found bee’s with 2-3 mites per bee and we’re at war currently.. Any and all hives coming in will get treated upon arrival no questions asked moving forward.

Dang Thumper, I'd be on that like all those saying say! lol

I'd OA them and consider apivar rx asap since the heat is so high Apivar isn't cheap, but either is what you've invested.

Put fresh water out for my girls this morning…. They hit it hard all day long

Diatomaceous earth is good for ants, small hive beetles, and other insects.

Pelleted lime or just lime is good for small hive beetles. It changes Ph of soil and disrupts their life cycle.

Swiffer sheets - cut into 4 equal squares. Place in top corners of hive box. Great for controlling SHB's.

A mixture of Crisco "white grease" - 3 pound can, diatomaceous earth - 1 cup, few drops of eucalyptus essential oil, and a few drops of any food coloring is good for SHB's in the hive. Mix until uniform color. That's what the food coloring is for. Ensures good mix. Place in back corners of hive box - top and bottom.

Peppermint candies are reported to be good for control of SHB's as well.

SHB entrance guards work well for SHB's. But not cheap - $10.00 each

Beetle Buster Traps work well for SHB's. About $2.00 each online. Fill trap 1/4 to 1/3 with vegetable oil and some apple cider vinegar.

Wax moths - not much can be done. I set up one of those bug lights to help control them.

*** Strong healthy hives should NOT ever have issues with SHB's , Wax Moths , Varroa Mites , etc.

*** Ukrainian scientists have found that bees fed micro doses of Lithium are very effective on Varroa mites. But don't eat the honey!

*** They also found that Deep UV exposure , ~245nm , has been very effective. Kind of like a sunburn for the bees, but kills the mites.

Problem with Diatomaceous earth is you have to stay on top of it, it rains, better put out more, Have used it for years tho at various times, heck, the wife and I drank it each morning for a time with water or orange juice.

keeping your hives out of the shade helps as much as anything I've tried, last year the HB where thick, I've seen 6 so far this year across 17 hives.

Best, easiest thing I've ever used is swiffer sheets cut in half, then fold each half once and place on the short ends.

Know a lot use the beetle blaster with success and they are easy to use

yep.........my sister has about 25 or 30 hives and moved them to half a day shade................and a mister system some yards away. She says it doubled production..........but I dont know chit about bees.

I am thankful yall do this though................oh and my god she has the wildflowers on about 20 acres...........its really pretty to watch them and all the other polloinators and birds

Any you guys have any interest in a few cheap USED frames" , since I'm switching to mostly plastic foundation, I have a bunch. They work super good if you have one or tow to help keep comb from being built willy nilly, when they want to make drone brood. They will fill these with drone brood early and fill with honey later in year.
Most are wired and have the right bar at the top, some may have popsicle sticks up top as a guide. You'll want the hive pretty level tho.

I'm also considering making some nucs next spring if anyone may be interested.

I am planning on ordering Cordovan's where I have been getting them for years, I can raise my own, but there is a propensity for them to be HOT when open bred here. These cordovans are stupid calm. If any interest, or questions, just post.

Also think I have some new, un- assembled foundation-less frames, can't get them anymore like these since Mann lake bought out Kelly, they have the top bar cut for comb making would have to charge for these a couple bucks.

You know I’m in, just make sure their not a mite breeding farm

Ok Thumper, I'm thinking of doing 10 or so if anyone may be interested, could be a few more depending on resources I have. I'll post a link below where I get my Cordovans, yall may want it for your own use as well, remember they added hygienic strain this year so color may vary somewhat, I'll try to get some photos of the 3 I got from her this year, so you can see the color range. btw, hygienic is a good trait and a positive thing they have added to their cordovans.

Right now I'm thinking for thf and as long as folks wont mind possible a couple foundationless frames, around $150 your box to $175 with ez nuc box, but haven't worked it all out yet

Great folks and have one of the most isolated yards I'm aware of with cordovans, good when open bred imo.

http://www.pendellapiaries.com/

Popped the lids for the first time today. Had planned on doing it a couple weeks ago but started a new job a little over a month ago and been working 12-14 hours/day six days a week. Finally got a break this weekend and catching up on overdue projects/chores.

Did a basic inspection and added a couple Apivar Varroa Mite Treatment strips in each hive. Only pulled 3-4 frames from each hive and still found two of the six queens not really looking for them. Couple of hives had only drawn out and we’re using a couple more frames. One was doing really well with 9 1/2 frames and the rest were between 7-8 and just beginning to draw out comb on the last couple frames.

Plan to hold off adding a second brood box until next spring. Got too late of a start this summer combined with this heat slowed them down I think.

Still feeding sugar water every couple days and just added an Ultra Bee Protein pollen substitute feeding station.