Long live the Queen

After giving the bees time to unpack and settle into their new abode, it was time for a roll call and inspection of their quarters. And for the record, I did not make them stand at attention but I did try to bounce a quarter off a few of their beds, 'cause I've always wanted to do that.

After days and days of this view, my trepidation of actually snooping around inside grew just as much as I hoped the colony was growing. They've been drinking, on average, a mason jar full of sugar water each day while still bringing in pollen. 

There is always a flurry of activity at the hive entrance. I still have an entrance reducer in place, reducing the size of the entrance which in turn lends a helping hand to the bees by providing a smaller area to protect from robber bees. Because they are a small colony, often referred to as a 'nuc', of approximately 10,000 bees, they are considered weak which makes it more difficult to protect their hive. 

There was some burr comb built up inside the top of the inner cover which I've read can be scraped off and saved for future use in candles or cosmetics. 

Inside the hive, there was a flurry of activity. No kidding. Perhaps the smoker did the trick, but the bees were not aggressive; most of them continued working while simply ignoring my presence. Many of the workers were cleaning cells, their heads stuck in a cell. It gave new meaning to the saying 'she's got her head stuck in the sand'. I might just start saying 'she's got her head stuck in the comb'. Remember...you heard it here first.

Speaking of comb, the next two outer frames from the original four were full of new comb and the next outer frame was a sight for sore eyes.

Honey! 

Uncapped honey was dripping out of the cells as I inspected the frame.

Of course, the most important reason for my inspection was to ensure there was a queen still in residence and that she was laying eggs. I had some difficulty finding new eggs but there was plenty of larvae which I considered a good sign. I searched one frame after another, and one of the first things I learned was that a frame covered in bees is heavy! I looked and looked, consulted my bee guide, rested my arms and went back and looked some more. I really had my doubts about finding her when finally, the last place I looked I found her. Funny how that happened, wouldn't you say? 

She was beautiful. Long, slender, short wings and almost completely brown from head to toe. I watched her as she walked across the frame, sang God Save the Queen and gently put the frame back so I could get my camera. I went back to the same frame so I could take her photo....no, no need to scroll down....there is no photo. She is apparently camera shy or my arms are weak. I'll leave it up to you to decide.

I'm joining:

Wordish Wednesday

Outdoor Wednesday
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Wordless Wednesday

~Bee well friends!~