​Four of a Kind

Sunday’s inspection went well.  Hive #1 is growing steadily, and the brown nucleus is also doing fine.  I left hive #2 alone, as the newly-emerged queen was probably out mating.

So, that just leaves the blue nucleus.  Last week, I tried and failed to find a queen, though there were signs that one had emerged recently.  On Sunday I had another look.  The first thing I spotted was eggs - this is good news!  It means I definitely have a queen in there somewhere, and she’s finished mating and started laying.

She gave me the run-around for a bit, but I found her on the fourth frame.  So I’m happy to say that I now have queens in all four of my hives.  And on Sunday, I had seen evidence that three of them were laying.  Which brings me on to...

Update - Today

My curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to pop along to the apiary at lunchtime today and see what was happening in hive #2.  After what they've been through, the colony is small - but at least they are looking nice and healthy.  And... there are eggs!  Plus, I spotted the queen.

So, I now have four laying queens, and all my colonies are back on track.

About Those Photos I Promised...

I don't have any bee photos to show you, but - last year, local botany enthusiast Stew planted some foxgloves at the apiary (thanks, Stew!).  And recently, Nev (the bees' landlord) and I have been doing planting near the hives (along with some other groundwork).  So here are a couple of photos to show you how things are looking so far:

Foxgloves - a favourite with the bumble bees.

Some bulbs and flowers growing by the new path.  So many buttercups!