Pics of lower brood chamber inspection

[magwheels]

We finally got our SBB and swapped it with the original wooden bottom board from May. The bees were still bearding a little the past few nights but overall I think they have been cooler since propping up the top, giving them a few hours of shade and now the screened board. I may add a slotted BB too.

When I pulled out the wooden board I noticed our first mites (drat!) so I plan to start treating with powdered sugar and monitoring.

We hadn't inspected the lower brood chamber in weeks- as you can see from the buildup of edge comb on some of the frames. What a bummer to scrape off extra chunks of comb with larvae, a good lesson to be more proactive.

I noticed 2 formations that looked like possible queen cells (at the top), one looks like it may have hatched?



(same pic larger)
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1038/...f926a82e_o.jpg

Pics of all the frames from the lower brood chamber are here, I added them to our ongoing set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1026530...7600466971241/
I poked around the pics looking for the queen but there seem to be a lot of bees in there and I got dizzy after a while. Plus she could be in the 2nd brood chamber.

From our very novice perspective- I guess things look to be going ok. It's really dry here but we have a few acres of white clover and I've been carefully mowing and watering on a staggered basis to try to keep the bloom cycle happening. We're surrounded by very small farms and old meadows and woods. I hear there are sourwood trees around but I haven't seen any in our immediate area.

We added the small super a few weeks back, they're still working on drawing that comb. It seems to me they've been much more occupied with brood rearing than honey collecting, but that's a novice perspective and I haven't looked at the 2nd brood chamber since the first pics we took.

There's no queen excluder in the mix, we don't plan to take any honey- at least not very much if we do next year. We originally intended to attempt this as organically as possible- but then we got our nuc before I had a chance to look into smaller cells/ starter strips- so we just used what we could get locally, the usual set up. We'll try the next hive that way.

We're filmmakers by trade so I'm looking forward to eventually doing some sort of video project involving bees.

But for now it'll just be stills. I'm pretty sure she's looking at me...



Giant version:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1031/...20536e29_o.jpg

[honeyman46408]

"We added the small super a few weeks back, they're still working on drawing that comb. It seems to me they've been much more occupied with brood rearing than honey collecting, but that's a novice perspective and I haven't looked at the 2nd brood chamber since the first pics we took."

That is a good looking hive and from what I see I would put the second super on yesterday there is about to bee a population explosion!!

[WVbeekeeper]

magwheels, nice pic. looks like you have a queen cell getting ready to be capped at the center of the top bar.
two picture to the right of the one with the umbrella, dsc_0013, looks like a capped cell to right. you might want to keep an eye on them

[magwheels]

Oops, yup, that was the pic I meant to highlight in the queen cell question- I put the wrong link. Here's the pic I meant, thank you for noticing!

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1138/...bb80516c_b.jpg

I'm pretty sure there's another queen cell there too, to the right a little lower. (edit- Oh sorry, I see you noticed.)
I know some people leave them and some people cut them out, when you say keep your eye on them- watch for hatching/ swarming and figure out a plan based on if they swarm?

[magwheels]

I'm reading all the threads on here (and other places) regarding queen cells / observation / various approaches to different situations. I see there are many scenerios, I'll keep watching and make sure I have a spare nuc box.
I might move a less drawn frame closer to the brood. For sure not cutting out/ killing.

We've had the super on for a few weeks and there's no excluder so maybe they're just experimenting.

[WVbeekeeper]

just watch and try not to lose a swarm, if they swarm. i've noticed on my hives that bees will gather over the front entrance looking down, as to watch for the queen to leave. it's different from when they washboard, are bearding, or fanning the hive. if you could confirm that there is a queen in the hive by physically seeing her and isolating the frame she is on, you can take that frame and a few frames of brood and start a nuc. leave the queen cells to requeen the hive. if you can't find the queen but see eggs, look harder. if you don't want to bother, watch for a swarm in case they are not supercedure cells, which i would believe the case this time of year. the new queen will kill the old when it emerges, so if i had the resources, i'd have a new nuc with some bees in it soon.

[magwheels]

Thanks so much WVbeekeeper. If I can find the queen I think I'll do the split. Hopefully it'll be the original queen, not a new virgin one. It should be interesting.

I don't have a 5 frame nuc box on hand, just a deep brood chamber (and frames/ bottom board/ top lid). In the interest of time can I use the brood chamber or should I wait to get a proper nuc box?

[WVbeekeeper]

i've used a regular deep before. just put your brood frames in the center and use foundation to the outsides. i'll put 3/4 strips of wood on both side of the entrance and leave a few inches in the center for them to get in and out. i think it helps them guard the entrance better. either seal it up and leave it in a cool dark place for three days, or seal it up and move it to buddy's house a few miles away and unscreen it at dusk. wait a week then take it back home.

[WVbeekeeper]

you know we'll need to see some pics of your first nuc too

[Barry Digman]

"But for now it'll just be stills. I'm pretty sure she's looking at me..."

By golly, I think she is.
All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up...


Very nice picture.

[magwheels]

Is there a way to tell the new virgin queen from the older queen? I'll be observing the queen cells closely but I'm nervous.

This makes a good case for marking our future queens.

you know we'll need to see some pics of your first nuc too

---surely! I've just got to find a suitably goofy secondary beach umbrella for the new nuc!

[WVbeekeeper]

here's a link that shows a deceased virgin queen
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...incessjoan.jpg
a virgin queen is real runny on a comb. they're difficult to spot. also, your virgin could be a different color than its mother, so don't look for a certain color. usually i'll just watch for a bee that's crawling all over the place and won't sit still. they're alot easier to find in a nuc. if someone has difficulty finding a laying queen, chances are they won't spot a virgin.

i think i spotted your queen in those pics. looks like she's laying an egg, but i have been wrong before.