bakerjw
06-06-2021, 07:47 PM
So, my swarm it like 18 days into the new hive. Last night I saw a small hive beetle makes it's way through the front door while bees tried to sting it. Today was the day that I had planned to open the hive and check things out.
When a swarm takes up residence in a new hive, it is immediately losing population. It takes a few days to draw out comb and for the queen to lay eggs and then about 3 weeks for the larva to hatch. So for 3 to 4 weeks, the population is in decline. I wanted to see where this colony was at in it's evolution. I found a LOT of capped brood, a handful of drones and many non aggressive happy bees.
BUT... I did find the queen... No name... Just the queen. Her colony is VERY mild mannered. A couple of bees got aggravated but they settled down nicely. Kudos for my oldest son who fears bees for standing there and taking pictures.
284090
When a swarm takes up residence in a new hive, it is immediately losing population. It takes a few days to draw out comb and for the queen to lay eggs and then about 3 weeks for the larva to hatch. So for 3 to 4 weeks, the population is in decline. I wanted to see where this colony was at in it's evolution. I found a LOT of capped brood, a handful of drones and many non aggressive happy bees.
BUT... I did find the queen... No name... Just the queen. Her colony is VERY mild mannered. A couple of bees got aggravated but they settled down nicely. Kudos for my oldest son who fears bees for standing there and taking pictures.
284090