1. It has been my experience that I get black mold in my hives when I haven't provided for proper ventilation. I used to get it on the underside of my inner cover.  Your bees are producing moist, warm  air.  If you haven't planned for a way for that air to exit the hive, it will rise to the top of the hive and hang there, providing an ideal environment for mold.  Sometimes the solution is as easy as turning your inner cover over so the air exits through the notch in the cover.  Sometimes you might want to drill some holes and cover them with hardware cloth. 
   

If your feeder is covering up your center hole, you may have effectively blocked the only way for the warm moist air to get out of the hive.  I use a Vivaldi board on top of each of my hives.  Recognizing that if I put a feeder over the center hole I will block hive ventilation, I drill holes in each of the corners of the Vivaldi board and cover those with hardware cloth.  Air comes up through those holes and then exits through the holes in the sides of the Vivaldi board.

Ted, the Vivaldi board concept is a new one for me! I have what I need to configure them for both hives this weekend. It won’t accommodate a syrup feeder so I will also make a small screened feeder box to put over the top board hole to feed dry sugar.

The colonies seem to be doing well. As of Tuesday, the package bees have drawn seven frames. The nuc is 80% full. So, I think it is time to put a second deep box on both colonies.

The apiary is at 1150’ elevation. After a massive pollen burst from Alder, Maple and the apples, the nectar flow is slow to start and this cool weather keeps them from flying. My new 2.5 acre pollinator meadow is up and just starting to bloom the early species. It should be spectacular by July! I look forward to showing it to you when this COVID-19 struggle passes. Many thanks. Ken J

Ted, I installed a package into a 10 frame deep and started feeding 1:1. The TVBA nuc went into another 10 frame deep. Both have a queen excluder, inner cover, medium box and a round feeder. They are building comb and were 70% drawn out last week. My intention is to inspect on Tuesday and add a deep to each colony and place a Vivaldi board on each one. Also planning to test the nuc for mites and continue feed.

Where did the TVBA nucs originate? I will try and remember to take pictures on Tuesday. Thanks, Ted!