An exciting verification today in the top bar beehive. Last weekend, we found capped brood when we had begun to assume we had lost our queen - again. At the time, we were unable to verify the presence of brood at any other stage. Had the queen laid successfully, then died?
Today, with some trepidation, I did a very quick hive inspection to see if there was any more progress, and found more brood, several stages of larvae, and the queen herself! I put the three frames I had disturbed quickly back into position (it is overcast and a bit cool), put the cover back on, and let out a deep sigh of relief. Okay, there may have been a fist pump too.
I'll leave things alone for another week, then do a more thorough inspection with Adrian to figure out where things are going as we head into fall. We will need to assess the honey situation, and decide if we will need to move some frames around, and if we will be needing to 'help' the hive with some sugar syrup to survive the winter; they have had so many upsets during the time when they should be setting in their stores.
I couldn't be happier to *not* be harvesting honey this year!
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