Two weeks ago, when I checked on Beeyonce and her entourage, all appeared well. I didn't even check every bar because they were getting a little loud which suggested they weren't pleased. But I had been surprised by how many combs had been built compared to my last colony. I suppose I shouldn't have been, they started almost two months earlier in the season and it'd been a mild one with lots of flowers. So I guess it should have also not been a surprise that they would do the other things a vital and prolific colony would do...
Today I had a little more time than expected so I decided to check out the hive. It's a very good thing I did. I managed to get to every bar and I found queen (swarm) cells on bars 3, 5, 6, and 11. There were so many capped brood cells that it's clear Beeyonce is there somewhere and doing well, even though I didn't see her today. After pondering for a few minutes whether I should just let them swarm (and basically be a bad neighbor) I closed up the hive, pulled out my nuc box from the garage, and set it up next to the main hive. I then reopened the hive and pulled out those 4 bars, along with another bar full of what looks to be mostly honeycomb. These are now set up in the nuc colony, with the entrance facing the opposite direction and I'll let the bees sort themselves out. In a few weeks I'll inspect again and see if there is a queen in each box.
After that, I'm not so sure. If Beeyonce isn't around and there's no evidence of a laying queen, I'll recombine them. If there are two healthy colonies, then I have to decide if I want to manage a second hive. All the beekeepers I know think I should have two. Or more. I'm not sure how all my new neighbors (three of the four houses around me are in the process of getting new owners) would feel about more than two hives!
Today I had a little more time than expected so I decided to check out the hive. It's a very good thing I did. I managed to get to every bar and I found queen (swarm) cells on bars 3, 5, 6, and 11. There were so many capped brood cells that it's clear Beeyonce is there somewhere and doing well, even though I didn't see her today. After pondering for a few minutes whether I should just let them swarm (and basically be a bad neighbor) I closed up the hive, pulled out my nuc box from the garage, and set it up next to the main hive. I then reopened the hive and pulled out those 4 bars, along with another bar full of what looks to be mostly honeycomb. These are now set up in the nuc colony, with the entrance facing the opposite direction and I'll let the bees sort themselves out. In a few weeks I'll inspect again and see if there is a queen in each box.
After that, I'm not so sure. If Beeyonce isn't around and there's no evidence of a laying queen, I'll recombine them. If there are two healthy colonies, then I have to decide if I want to manage a second hive. All the beekeepers I know think I should have two. Or more. I'm not sure how all my new neighbors (three of the four houses around me are in the process of getting new owners) would feel about more than two hives!
And, in a tactical error, I went out to check on them briefly today and one of the bees got stuck in my hair and stung me.
ReplyDeleteNew colony sting count: 1
Total beekeeping sting count: 31
Eek.
Delete