I am in SE CT and today was beautiful temperatures pushing 60 degrees so I
escaped from my shop and spent the midday beekeeping.
    All 15 of my hives have come through this far strong  and only one was
light enough to make me worry.
    All 15 hives recieved a bee pro ( pollen substitute) patty and had their
bottom boards swept off.
 
    Of course no hobbiest can go into his hives without fostering a few new
questions.
 
1  Do the hives with very clean bottom boards exhibit the kind of hygienic
behavior that breeders are trying to select for?
 
2  Is there an advantage/disadvantage to making bottom boards with the
opening in the long side (warm way) ?, as this is how the two logs I cut open
with feral hives had their combs oriented.
 
3  When using Apistan in early spring how much brood do you wait for to use
these as early as possible and still be effective?
 
4  As the honey flow here is mainly a fall flow with goldenrod/aster being
the main source would I be better to not feed my colonies this spring and
wait until the July nectar dearth to build them up with syrup?
 
Ok  trying not to be a pain in the posterior and I know this won't make the
best of Bee-L but today getting out with my bees was a nice spring tonic.