Short post here, but I went into Hive 2 Friday evening to check on the queen situation. The new queen should have hatched Monday, and I wanted to make sure all was well.
Hive 2 is still packed with bees, and they’ve started to draw out the first honey super. Last inspection, pretty much every cell was packed with pollen, nectar, or brood. Not so this time. The frames are starting to open up, which is good.
I only pulled two frames in each brood box (just trying to see how things were going, not a full inspection), and I found one old queen cell that looked like it had been torn open. I’m not sure if the bees are tearing them down or if that was the new queen tearing a rival cell open to kill the unhatched rival. I’m just not experienced in raising my own queens, so….
I did not see the queen nor did I see eggs. However, I vaguely remember hearing that it can take a week or two for the new queen to get mated. I’m not too concerned yet. The hive was overall gentle and well organized, which I take to be a good sign.
I’ll check the hive again this coming Saturday. I’ll be expecting to see at least brood then, and if I don’t, I may go exploring for the queen.
Any advice on queens?
