All of my hives have a second hive body added at the bottom now. I pulled one or two frames with plenty of pupa into the (new) bottom brood box. My entrances have been set at medium or completely removed on warm days (50* or warmer). Internal insulation has all been removed. I suspect external insulation will be removed the first week of June. There is plenty of pollen available for the bees to forage, so no need for feeding pollen patties. And as soon as dandelions are prolific, all sugar water feeders will be removed.
I continue to complete hive checks every ten days, making sure I see eggs and/or queens before removing queen (supersedure) cells.
When completing hive checks, I bring a small container for harvesting wax and a spray bottle with 1:1 sugar water for keeping the bees calm and less aggressive. My hive checks are done mid-day while many of the workers are out foraging. This helps me to see into the cells better and the colony is less aggressive as well.
I can't stress enough how important completing hive checks every 10 days is. "Just Do It!"
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