I'm in the same situation as Dennis. I got 2 packages of bees (1 Russian and 1 Italian) on April 3rd.
I've been feeding them steady since they were hived, and the Russian's have drawn out almost all the frames in the hive, and this week I plan to add another hive.
The Italians have drawn out about 6 frames.
Both hives have brood, and both are collecting pollen and storing it.
The Russian's are fine, but when I inspected the Italians Saturday I saw a couple mites running across the comb, and I saw 3 or 4 bees on the ground in front of the hive that had jacked-up wings.
My newbie questions are:
Should I try to medicate the Italians for the mites?
Should I keep feeding both hives? They seem to be filling 1/2 the comb with brood, and 1/2 with sugar water.
Will the sugar water they store be useful to them through the winter, or is honey better for them?
Will a hive become honey bound if they have plenty of supers and hive bodies?
Thanks,
Brian