Boy did I tick my bees off today. My goal today was to do a final inspection, feed the brood box if I needed to, apply Apiguard and install entrance reducers in both hives. I opened the hives to make sure all was well and they really got angry. Both hives were buzzing. They looked like they had plenty of honey. The honey box on the first hive had two empty frames. I switched the empty frames on the left side for two full frames toward the middle. Upon a quick inspection of the brood box I didn't see any brood. The honey there was much darker than the honey in the top box. I treated the brood box with Apiguard and closed it up.
I knew that the second hive was busier than the first so I got Rob's help to lift the honey box out of the way. It wasn't a good introduction to the bees. With Rob's help, I slid the bottom board under the hive then went to open the hive. The bees were not happy to see either of us. By the time we got the honey box off the brood box, they were more than ticked. Rob and I had both been stung several times and there was no way I could move the honey box by myself so I just put the brood food in, treated with Apiguard and Rob helped me closed the hive again.
Hopefully the bees will be in a better mood in the spring.
