From Northwest Fla to Ace in South Fla: Hooray!
Moving to the right location.
I've leapfrogged them on 2 sets of sawhorses. Couple of feet every other day or so. No worries when the entrace faces the same direction.
Feeding a swarm.
I wouldn't feed a swarm this time of year, unless you want ants, robbing, etc. My best swarms just built up a bit and I added a frame or two of capped brood as they could defend it. There's oodles of forage out there, almost year round. The main flow in NW Fla ends after sabal palms...mid-end of June. Then, watch out: many hangry bees looking for weak colonies to rob.
Feral Bees in Fla.
Speaking of robbing, I keep entrances small on new colonies... 3/4" by 1"... a 1x board cut short. So many ferals here. And nobody's putting any OAV on those feral colonies. Anyone I know who does cutouts doesn't bother to treat here. Fla. apiary inspectors are all nice, none I've met are pushy. It's not like childhood vaccines.
SHB
Now that's another matter and we have to do something mechanical. My best defense is Dixie H700 reusable paper towels. Cut them in half, stretch them up a bit, rough them up on #8 mesh, and drop on the top bars. Even feral cutout bees figure out fast that SHB get trapped in the fuzz, so they herd them to the towel.
Some people use Beetlebuster traps. I find those warp in hot weather, the SHB get corralled under the ruffled edge, and make a run down the frame when I lift out the trap. And the trench dries out, etc. I'm trying a few guardian hive entrances, but not enough time has passed to see results.
The bees use the gaps under the 1x entrance reducer for an SHB corrall, too. So when you move the entrance reducer, be on the ready with with a 1" putty knife. The putty knife is more precise and flexible than a hive tool. I aim for where those SHB are headed and play Space Invaders for a few minutes at the beginning of an inspection. Resting a frame on a piece of carboard to do SHB smashing keeps SHB guts out of the hive.
Finally, a good screened bottom board system helps a lot. It should have at least 2.5" space underneath so the hive trash can be collected weekly on a pull-out tray, otherwise SHB will lay eggs in the hive trash. The hive needs some ventilation, but not a lot so they can keep the "A/C" on. So I use front & sides closed, back open for cleaning. If they're fanning too loud in 100 degree temps, a partial reducer there closes the door a bit.
I almost lost a colony in a bottom board system that didn't have cleanout space. They started to abscond and I had to catch them but lost the Q. Now I always use the right SBB setup.
Best thing: Bees love Florida!
