It looks like you have robbing going on when you see some bees go in and out, theyr'e stealing the honey. You need a inspection to see what's going on inside. If so, close off the hive and get a new package. What is the dark ....are these bees? Perhaps mold, to some degree they can clean it up, I would scrape off most first.

I used to just damp mop with Murphy's Oil. Use about half as much Murphy's oil as the directions call for and then re-oil. I found that waxing did make the floor easier to keep clean and lengthen times between oilings.

My hardwood floors are probably filthy, but look really good. I have them throughout the first floor. I sweep them daily, and run the occasional Swiffer WetJet on the kitchen portion of the floor in front of the sink, dishwasher and stove. I have tried a lot of things when mopping, and found that I prefer to use hot, HOT water and a damp rag mop once a month to get them really clean. I often have to refill the water, as it is black during this cleaning. Should probably do it more often, but I don't have the time.

I always assumed Colorado's Front Range, where we received a scant 15" of rain a year amd any time the relative humidity got above single digits was what I called a "muggy day," was an arid climate. It seems every bit as wet as when I lived in the middle of the rainforest on Oahu compared to south-central Arizona. No, I'm not complaining, I hate humidity with a burning passion and rain and clouds are my arch nemesis. But, you're righr. The critters here are water desperate, though, maybe not as much here on the western edge of suburban Phoenix. Plus there is a lot of agriculture here in Buckeye so irrigation canals are still more common than stop lights. I do have a bird bath that I keep filled, so there is water present for them. I assume the insects use it every bit as much as much as the birds, but they don't get trapped in it, so I don't find their corpses floating in the tray like I do the hummer feeder. No, I haven't been to the Sonoran desert museum yet, Tucson is a solid 2-2 1/2 hour drive yet from where I'm at, so I haven't made it that way really (I did visit Tombstone when my wife was here for interviews back in October and drove through). Right now though, the hummer species list is pretty limited. I get Anna's here at the house and have seen Costa's around, but most others, from my understanding, are as transient as I am and wont be around until spring. As far as I know, the European honeybee and its Africanized counterpart are wholly indistinguishable outside of a laboratory setting. That is why it is "presumed" that all Apis mellifera in this corner of the world are of the subspecies/hybrid "scutellera" (Africanzied/killer bee). That being said, I do NOT wamt to spread fear, but awareness is a great tool. Just like all animals, and I have worked in close proximity to everything from bison to rattlesnakes, they operate on DEFENSE rather than offense. A healthy respect goes a long way and like my boss at USFWS used to say "it's a herd, not a gang."