Bee Space and Moving Colonies to Summer Locations

I picked up and hived my bees on April 17th - Easter Sunday. 

All five colonies have a laying queen. 

I have kept each colony in one deep brood box to help them survive this cold snap we've been experiencing. 

Every colony has been fed 1:1 sugar to water four times and I had to replace pollen patties since the bees devoured the first patties about a week ago. 

My honeybees have been kept warm by having the entrance reducer set on the smallest setting and insulation around all four sides of the brood box and inside the telescoping lid and under the bottom board. 

I am preparing to move my colonies from my home at a high elevation, to three different locations in downtown Fairbanks. There are more abundant flora and natural water sources at lower elevations. Moving colonies will be accomplished at night after the bees are all inside their hive. I cover entrances with a window screen, stapling the screen to the wood so bees cannot and will not escape while transported. 

Then I place a ratchet strap around the entire box, bottom board, and lids, making sure this is ratcheted very tight. They will be loaded into a utility vehicle and driven to their new summer home.

Once the bees are in their summer location, I will wait until 50* or warmer to add a second box below the first brood box. 

When the weather warms up to above freezing temperatures all day and night, we can pull a couple frames of brood down into the empty brood box because when those bees hatch out, they will go to work building and repairing wax honeycomb in the lower brood box, preparing the cells for the queen to lay eggs. If you place eggs and larva into an empty box when temperatures are below 40*, colonies can develop chalkbrood. The remedy for chalkbrood is better maintenance by keeping the bees warm and fed.

I am making sure to fill internal feeders with sugar water every 3-5 days. Letting the colony run out of sugar water increases the risk of colony collapse. 

Pretty soon, we will slow down with feeding sugar water so the bees don't pack every available cell with sugar water, causing the queen to be "honey-bound" which occurs when she has no empty cells in which to lay her eggs. 

The bees have been bringing in willow pollen and will start foraging for birch and spruce very soon.

Keeping bees fed and warm is the #1 goal at this time.