Can't say why bees might need salt. I have a small cattle operation near my bees and I keep a salt block for the cows use. It has included trace minerals. During the brood rearing season and after a rain, the area has so many bees around the salt block the cattle seek other parts of the pasture. I can only assume by observation that the salt block contains some elements that honeybees need.
Has anyone noticed that bees tend to build better on darker frames? Or is it just me? I double coated both black and yellow plastic frames with wax, and gave one hive all black frames, and the other all yellow ones. Both hives had 8 frames of brood on the bottom box, and the black frame box...
About a million queen bees are sent in the mail annually. Most of these bees are mailed to places in the United States and Canada, but some are sent to other countries. Recent developments include the crossing of selected inbred lines to produce hybrid bees, and as of 1977, the direct sale of artificially inseminated queens.
Since they are all basically Dadant bees I would think you could contact Dadant and Sons and find out who they authorize as dealers/breeders in Midnite bees. At least the Starlines and Midnites used to be their lines of bees.
Pollen traps vary greatly in design and positioning on the hive. All make use of one basic principle – a grid to remove the pollen pellets from the bees and a box or tray to collect them. Pollen-collecting field bees are forced to enter the hive through an opening screened with 5-mesh hardware cloth or 3/16-inch diameter perforated sheet ...