I'm a hobby beekeeper with two hives: good hive and bad hive.

Last year (the first year) good hive gave me 160 pounds of honey. I barely
got 20 from bad hive. This year good hive has thus far provided 110 pounds
and I expect 60-80 pounds more based on the state of the 4 supers on the
hive now. Bad hive has provided no honey.

Through a comedy of errors, both hives were requeened last September. Both
came through the winter OK, but bad hive has always been weak; good hive has
always been extremely robust. The hives sit side-by-side overlooking what
used to be a soybean field that is now being turned into tract homes. They
are in Northern Illinois, 40 miles west of Chicago.

Bad hive started out weak this year and by June was exhibiting symptoms of
having a laying worker. I attempted to requeen. I couldn't find a queen, but
the queen I put in was released from her cage. It didn't seem to help any
and the hive continued to decline as evidenced by few bees flying in or out.
The bees that were there were very aggressive.
There also was very little brood and most of it looked like drone cells.

When I went out Sunday it was being robbed through the inner cover (I prop
the cover up a little for ventilation). I closed the top tight and put in an
entrance reducer with the smallest opening open.

I checked it again last night (Tuesday) at 5:00PM. Hive population is down
to about the same as a package, I guess about 2-3000 bees? Inner cover was
covered with black ants. Yellowjackets were openly flying into the hive. I
went through the hive frame by frame. There were some wax moth larvae, and
some damage/cocoons. I killed all the larvae, about 10, cut out all the
areas where there was cocoons/damage, and then closed it back up.

There's about 80 pounds of honey in the two deeps. I hate to turn it over to
the wax moths and other critters.

Here are my thoughts:

1) Actually kill the remaining bees using ? Soapy water? Drive them out
using beegone? And then totally seal up the hive until the spring when I
install a new package. Put moth crystals in the sealed hive.

2) Kill the remaining bees, extract the honey that is there, seal up the
hive with moth crystals in place.

3) Kill the remaining bees, put the deep hive bodies on top of the good hive
and let the good hive take care of the honey and wax moth problems.

4) Just seal it up with moth crystals in place and let the crystals kill
everything.

What do you suggest? I don't think I have a lot of time here before I have
to take some action. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Chuck


_________________________________________________________________
Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com