Last week when working the mean hive I split it and requeeened the eggless
half which was placed on the original stand. The remaining boxes were hauled
off into the woods and divided into two more hives. The older meaner bees
joined up with the requeeened portion on the original stand. The two splits
were searched yesterday and were weakened of older bees enough to work fully
suited up and the queen was located and dispatched. This afternoon I will
give new queens to each of the splits.
I did not get a chance to try the vinegar spray to see if that enrages
them less.
The strong hive on the original stand has accepted the new queen and has
eggs the older bees are still mean.
The brood pattern of the mean hive was wall to wall perfect and if my
beekeeping were rural I would have been tempted to keep it going despite
getting beat up and followed to my truck by the guard bees. Although I do
like to work the majority of my hives in painter overalls and a string tie
veil.