As promised this is the result of 2010 wintering.... 15/20 Last fall I had 18 hives & 2 nucs The nucs had normal corpse count (One should have not died, but the other had a new russian q that never really got going) The starved hive had normal corpse count (it was in the top 3 for testy, so you get what you give) The one beside it had few corpses The last had some corpses, but less than normal & cluster was crowded close to entrance hole. I think that ccd makes them smell, so they want fresh air Last year my VD control was very poor, think of this as a test to destruction. Nah, I am really a screw-up sometimes, and I'd really prefer to have less hives. I don't like lifting 80# boxes so much nowdays So I have mixed feelings about this result I was expecting worse than 25% loss, can I attribute this to the VC? (vitamin C) (I expected 40% loss) I rate them as 10 G, 3 F & 2 P (good, fair, poor) but few frames were pulled, too cold, bees too testy (made me put veil on) Some of the 10 G will be GP and there may even be more than 1 VG (good plus, very good) One of the fair hives has probably gone queenless, I saw a fresh cell I observed a yellowjacket queen, trapped in house, rubbing her abdomen as often as her antenna. I'm sure that she was doing it when I was not looking too No pollen here yet, mid ontario, N of Lindsay & given the weather, not for a few days more dave *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm