Hive inspection 6/27/2011

Hive #1 - Did not see queen, but spotted some eggs and older larvae. Capped brood is about to hatch. Some drone cells noted. Comb building is still slow but hive appears happy and is calm.


Hive #2 - Swarm hive - New hive looks very crowded in only one medium super, so I added a second one. Placing the entrance feeder on top of the frames with an extra medium box did not work well, as bees were in a ball hanging off of inner cover. Too much robbing was happening with the feeder placed on top of inner cover with the top entrance open. I moved the entrance feeder to the entrance and thus far, the hive seems quiet and calm.

A new swarm and a great way to package them

I just picked up a swarm from another member of the Wasatch Beekeepers Association. She caught them in her front yard, but didn't have the equipment to put them in, so she was giving them away.  I rushed right over and brought home a lovely blob of what looks like carniolan bees.  Oh I'm so excited!  I got home and installed them just in time before it got dark.  Had several bees crawl up inside my pant legs, and amazingly I didn't get stung.  Whew!  I am thrilled with having a second hive now.

The gal I got them from had a great idea for a swarm box - A basic styrofoam cooler with several holes carved out of the top and a screen duct taped over the top.  I thought it was a great idea.  I wouldn't have thought of it myself.

This is the inside of the lid.  The screen is taped in, and I added some heavy duty staples to help keep it in place.

Tomorrow I will also be checking hive #1.  I am hoping that they have drawn out  some more comb for the queen and some eggs.  I'm thinking that some of the brood should be close to hatching by now.
More tomorrow...

Baby Bees! Slow comb building.

I was thrilled with what I found in the hive today!  BABIES!  The new queen has been very busy, filling at least 4 frames with what is now sealed brood.

It looks like she ran out of room for more eggs though, even with the extra box I put on last week.  The bees seem to be a little slow in drawing out comb, but I'm not going to worry just yet.  I figure the hive is pretty small by now, and once the new bees hatch, I should see a dramatic increase in activity and comb building.  I'll keep feeding them syrup to hopefully help the process along, even though they have definitely slowed down their sugar consumption.  To the best of my knowledge, the hive appears to have finally taken a turn for the better.  Although I didn't see the queen, I did find eggs in the newest drawn comb.  What a sight for sore eyes!  Here are some more photos of the brood.

Yippee!!!

We have success!!!  Opened the hive today and found the queen plus eggs!!!  I am SO relieved.  At first I wasn't sure if I was seeing eggs, or the bottom of the cell with the other side showing through, but after closer inspection, I saw a few dots that were not exactly centered - they were EGGS.  YES!  The queen appeared to be doing her thing with her back end in a cell, so I very carefully put her back in the hive.  To say I am thrilled is putting it mildly.

Time goes so slowwwwwww

The suspense is killing me.  I am dying to know if the new queen is "doing her thing" and filling all those empty cells with eggs.  I must wait till Sunday...

So far so good

Queen has been released and cage removed. Hive seems calm. Added medium super as lower box seemed full of honey. Wanted to be sure there was enough room for her to lay eggs. A quick inspection revealed no eggs, but it is a little early. Will deem Sunday as our hive check day from here on out. I hope this works!