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Author Topic: Is it safe to put frames from a failed hive into a new hive?  (Read 2137 times)

Offline kedgel

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I think my hive failed from a combiantion of mistakes on my part and possibly mites.  Just before it collapsed entirely, I noticed several bees on the ground in front of the hive hanging on grass.  They were unable to fly with missing or disjointed wings.  I had an invasion of carpenter ants that I attributed the messed up wings to.  I don't think they had nosema, as there were no tell-tale poop smears in or around the hive.  I inspected a fresh-dead bee with a magnifying glass and didn't see any varoa mites.  I have a wild hive I recently cut out of a tree that I would like to put the frames into, but don't know if I should or how to disinfect them.  A couple of them had moth and/or SHB larvae in them so I put them in the freezer for a couple of days. 
Talent is a dull blade that cuts nothing unless wielded with great force--Pat Travers

Offline fermentedhiker

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Re: Is it safe to put frames from a failed hive into a new hive?
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2009, 08:27:38 pm »
It depends on a couple of things I guess.  That is how sure you are that they didn't have foulbrood(freezing won't do any good if they did).  If it was mites/moths/shb then they are "probably" ok now.  Secondly it depends on how comfortable you are with the risk.  If you are unsure of why they died out, you might try taking high resolution pics of the frames and showing them to your local inspector.
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
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Offline beee farmer

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Re: Is it safe to put frames from a failed hive into a new hive?
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2009, 04:02:58 pm »
Ditto to Hiker he giving you good advice
"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do"  Benjamin Franklin

 

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