Inspection 4/21/2011

Nuc #1, Nuc #2, Nuc #3
70°F
Sunny
Slight Breeze


A quick look at the Nucs before the monthly Club Meeting.  In case there was an issue i needed to ask the membership about .  Fortunately I didnt see anything that look like a problem.

Nuc #1 is looking great now with 3 frames of eggs & larva.  The pattern looks as solid as it can be.  I did see a cell with 2 eggs in it but only once.  I'll check again this weekend to look for more.  I don't want a laying worker problem.  

3rd row of eggs, 3rd cell from the left;  2 eggs

The larva was on each of the brood frames.  She must have begun laying soon after the first inspection.  No capped brood yet but that will happen soon.

Larva from Nuc 1

The brood looked good so it was a surprise to see the they're Superseding.  When the Nuc was first made the bees my not have begun to make queen cells for a day or more.  That would allow any fresh eggs to become older and less likely to form into a good queen.  The best queen cells coming from day old eggs to 3 days old at most.  This queen seems alright but the bees know better.

Supersedure Cell

I'll check this nuc every few days to see what happens with the queens.  Once the new bees begin to emerge another Deep box could be put on the nuc.  In the mean time i'll stop feeding them sice they have plenty of food and the Flow is about to start.

Queen bee, perhaps soon to be replaced

Nuc #2 has plenty of capped brood left in her as well as 3 Queen cells.  2 have been capped while 1 is being capped now.  So by the weekend after next a queen should have emerged.  Another week after that, or shortly after, there might be eggs in this nuc.

Queen Cell 1

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Queen Cell 3

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Queen Cell 2 with a....'What is that!'

I took this picture of the queen cell as the bees were capping it.  I didn't see the image until later.  Which is when I noticed the odd looking bee in the blue oval.  It appears that her abdomen is elongated like a queen.  She doesn't appear to be bigger than the drone either.  If it was an obvious queen i think i would have noticed her.  I'll check this nuc this weekend as well to see if i can find anything else.

One more issue was the mesh reducer on the entrance.  Because of the threat of early robing i cut a mesh reducer to fit a single bee.  I didn't think about drones & queens at the time though.  I found frame 5 completely covered in drones.  Just sitting there doing more nothing then usual.  I realized then they might not be able to get out of the hive; though i saw no bee waste stains anywhere.  It also means a queen couldn't get out of the hive either.  I made the entrance bigger and left it at that. 


Nuc #3 had lost most if it's swarm cells.  They had been torn down and replaced with regular comb.  I looked and looked for a queen but never saw one.  Hopefully in a few days i will find a bunch of eggs.  Then I'll know she has a queen.

Bunch 'o bees

Her population is great for a nuc but shes is in a 10 frame box not  a 5 frame nuc.  They wont be able to defend their space as well but have no pests yet.  

Both Nuc #1 & Nuc #2 had their Inner Covers finally put on. 

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Inspection 4/15/2011

Nuc #1 & Nuc #2
68°F
Sunny
Calm

A queen should have emerged in Nuc #1 last weekend.  I went in today to see if she had begun to lay eggs.  The first frame had no new eggs and all the capped brood had emerged.  Frame 2 Also had no eggs or brood but did have the New Queen.  Though my colonies have generated many queens this is the first one I meant to make.  Woohoo! it worked

The marking tools are always in the work bucket.  It took a bit to get her in the tube though.  A worker bee always trys to get stuck in there with the queen.  2 small dots of white paint and a minute of drying later shes marked.

Marked Queen Bee

She went back on the frame then scurried out of site.  The other frames had no eggs either.  I posted a question on the forum asking how long it takes a new queen to start laying.  They said it can take up to 2 weeks.  I'll check again next weekend to see how they're doing. 

Still making Mating Flights

Meanwhile they are bringing in plenty of nectar & pollen.  They could potentially become honey bound before she begins to lay.  If so I'll swap out a couple of frames for empty drawn frames.  Plus I put the Slatted Rack on.

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Nuc #2 had 3 Queen cells on the first frame I pulled out.  Only 2 were capped.  There was still plenty of worker capped brood on that frame too.  I didn't look any further and closed it up. 

The nucs are looking good so far.  Once a queen begins to lay I plan on adding the second nuc box with filled honey frames.

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Myrina's Nuc & New Queen

Today's weather was Sunny & warm which is what I've been waiting for to make the second Nuc.  Myrina's population is increasing rapidly and I've been worried about her swarming.  I did not plan for a full inspection.  Only to make the nuc and close everyone up afterward.

As I took it of i saw the bees had not begun to draw out the Honey Super.  Oh well!.  I started removing the frames from the top brood box.  Lots of bees, lots of capped brood cells, & lots of drone cells.  To look for eggs I had to push the bees around on the frames to see into the cells.  I was also looking for the Queen of course.  I meant to locate then isolate her before i took any frames for the nuc.

It didn't take long.  Queen Myrina was in the top box on frame #5.  Not the blue marked VSH daughter from 2010 but a new Unmarked queen!  Whoa!  I grabbed the marking tube from the tool box and chased her around the frame for a few seconds before i managed to catch her.  She was laid to the side for later.  Then I took the frame she was on and the 3 adjacent frames and put them in the Nuc; they had plenty of eggs.  I put an extra honey frame in the nuc and it was full.  A towel was placed over the nuc while I finished up with Myrina.

All 4 frames were replaced with drawn crimped-wire frames saved from Duchess.  The remaining brood frames were checker-boarded some what to move the end frames into the brood nest.  Then I marked queen Myrina with a white marker and let the paint dry for a minute.  After which she was released back onto a brood frame.

The New Queen Myrina

At this point I closed up Myrina and grabbed the nuc to take to its stand.  The Screened Bottom Board & Telescoping Cover were waiting there for the Nuc.  All of it was assembled and there sat Nuc#2.

A Nuc from both Hives

As I closed the cover on the new Nuc I noticed that the bees were Very quiet.  Hopefully by next weekend they will have a handful of Queen cells made.  Also the Slatted Rack was added at the start.  I hope it will allow the bees to keep the bottom of the frames warmer so they have more queen cell candidates.  I should have done that with the first nuc.  Nuc#2 has 4 full frames of bees in it.  Which is what I've been told is a good amount.

The New Queen Myrina.  The last time I saw the blue marked 2010 queen was in October.  Yet all spring there has been plenty of brood.  I feel like she may have been replaced after the boxes were reversed.  I couldnt have been last year since it would have been to late for drones to be around.  There was also no problem with egg laying early this year.  There was a slow down after the reversal.  I assumed it was related to the reversal but it may have been when the supersedure occurred; or she died and was replaced.  I havent seen any queen cells yet this year.  A full inspection is in order now.

The good news is that Myrina is requeened.  I'll not worry as much about her swarming now.  The new queen performance is Fantastic.  The brood frames were filled from edge to edge with brood.  The pattern was completely solid.  Possibly the best looking brood frames I've ever seen.  I hope the queen in Nuc#2 ends up the same.

On a final note the beekeeping neighbor and I both noticed TONS of drone cells in our hives this weekend.  Almost entire frames of them.  All our queens are local to this area.  I hope it is normal for here but I do not recall so many drone cells before.

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NUC # 2 CHRONICLE

August 19, 2011 - (Combined into Heléna)

(post link)

r-SBB, SR, DNB1, DNB2, IC, TC

• End of Nuc #2
• Queen was caged & placed in neighbors colony Abigale
• All 10 frames placed in DHB for Heléna
• Remaining equipment put into storage

May 8, 2011

r-SBB, SR, DNB1, IC, TC

• Add DNB2 + 5 drawn frames (mixed)

May 5, 2011

(post link)
r-SBB, SR, DNB1, IC, TC

• Marked New Queen - white

May 1, 2011

r-SBB(c), SR, DNB1, IC, TC

• Open Bottom of SBB

April 21, 2011
(post link)
r-SBB(c), SR, DNB1, TC

• Add IC
• 3 Queen Cells

April 15, 2011

(post link)

r-SBB(c), SR, DNB1, TC
DNB1 = 5 frames, Crimped-Wire
                              Brood frames = 4/5
Queen Spotted = queenless
Brood Present = yes (queen cells)
Brood Pattern = solid
Drone Cells = yes
Population = good
Condensation = no
Pests = none

• 2 Capped Queen Cells

April 10, 2011

(post link)

r-SBB(c), SR, DNB1, TC
DNB1 = 5 frames, Crimped-Wire
                              Brood frames = 4/5
Queen Spotted = queenless
Brood Present = yes
Brood Pattern = solid
Drone Cells = yes
Population = good
Condensation = no
Pests = none

• Add all equipment
• Added 4 brood frames from Myrina
• Added 1 honey frame from Duchess

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