Long Live The Queen

We opened the hive again yesterday, to replace the bottle of sugar syrup, and to check on the progress in the brood nest. We know they're eating the syrup, and have observed them bringing in pollen, but the big question was whether the queen was laying in the comb that the workers had built....

Perhaps not the visual that everyone wants, but we were thrilled to verify the presence of eggs and larvae in various stages of growth, as well as some cells already capped with new bees-to-be maturing inside. It has been just twelve days since this colony package went into a completely empty hive. Workers, which is likely what the queen is laying, take 21 days from the time their egg is laid to when they emerge to become part of the colony.

Otherwise, the comb has been expanded, and they have capped honey cells near the top of some of the comb as well as stored pollen. The girls have been very easy to handle, and accepted our intrusion into their home with little bother. So that we could observe the cells, I was able to get the workers to move off the comb by blowing gently. We have not yet needed to use the smoker, but may find there is need as the colony grows and there are more bees on guard duty. Our main problem is gently putting the top bars back in place, as there are always inquisitive bees moving up and down the wood top bars. It takes a series of gentle bumps to get the girls to move out of the way and avoid squashing anyone.

Today is cold and rainy, so I'm glad we were able to open the hive yesterday. Our Mason Bees are still on hold in our fridge, as there have not been enough warm days in a row to warrant risking the 80 cocoons we saved from last year. If there is an extreme drop in temperature, the males (who are first to emerge) might die off before the females emerge for their mating flights on the next warm day.

The bunnies are getting more adorable as their fur comes in, and they should be starting to open their eyes as early as tomorrow.