Some New Pics

We checked to see how Doris and the Gang were doing. Doris was two frames short of a full box of brood. She is definitely ready for a super. Surprisingly, I found no signs of mites. There was such a battle last year, I expected to have some number to count but there was none.

Ethyl got a super that had frames without foundation. She has done an excellent job, so far, building out these frames. There are larvae and eggs in this pearl white comb. 

If you look close, you might find Ethyl here. She got a marking today, some blue paint to match Doris. This is a frame with foundation that has also been built out and is full of eggs and larvae. This super is only about twenty percent built but these Carniolan bees have definitely lived up to the stereotype of rapid reproduction and comb production.

Ethyl also showed no signs of mites. I witnessed in previous inspections, workers removing larvae from cells in the brood comb. This is characteristic of a hygienic breed of bees.

While there were not many votes, the name that got got the most clicks in our survey was Lucy. So here we introduce our unexpected queen, Lucy. Lucy received a frame without foundation. Here she can be seen inspecting the pure white comb. If there were eggs laid here, they were too difficult to make out because of the lack of contrast between eggs and comb.

Lucy also got a marking, but hers did not turn out as well. I accidentally marked her wings and she ran too fast for me to correct it. We will check on her next week and try again if we get a chance.

Lucy is also ready to get a super. These bees are moving so quickly this year we should have no problems harvesting honey.

With the nectar flow nearing full swing, I have removed all of the feeders from the hives. There is plenty of honey being stored now and supers are being prepared for expanding these hives. Ethyl and Lucy both seem as though they prefer frames without foundation. I am planning on mixing frames in the supers so we can get comb honey and extracted honey from these hives. These deep brood boxes are full of bees right now and summer has not yet begun.