I am totally new to this and I have two questions (well tons, but two of
immediate concern).

1. My hive body is three or four weeks old. I started with all new
equipment and purchased bees. after a week or two I noticed ants on the
bottom board near the board feeder. Is this something to be concerned
about? Since the hive sits on 6x6's its impractical to "moat" it.

 2. When I checked the hive after the first week (with the help of a
beekeeper of six years experience) we were able to find the queen (she
looked a lot bigger in just one week!) and she was laying but we also
noticed weird wax formations in two places one fairly high on the
foundation with a hole behind it (queen cell??) and one lower on a
different frame. My friend removed the upper one and told me I should
remove the lower one next time I go into the hive. I've been following the
instructions in Dadant's First Lessons in Beekeeping and plan to open the
hive the next sunny day. So... SHould I destroy the odd comb or let the
bees do what they think best. ANything in particular to look for.

Thanks in advance for any advise.

Sue

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Philadelphia, PA