Virginia Code Title 3.2. Agriculture, Animal Care, and Food § 3.2-4403. Duties of beekeepers

1. Provide movable frames with combs or foundation in all hives used by them to contain bees, except for short periods, not to exceed the first spring honey flow, and to cause the bees in such hives to construct brood combs in such frames so that any of the frames may be removed from the hive without injuring other combs in such hive; and

2. Securely and tightly close the entrance of any hive in apiaries not free from disease and make the hive tight so that robber bees cannot enter, leave, or obtain honey from the hives as long as the hives remain in a location accessible by honeybees.