[BeeGora]

I installed two packages of bees three weeks ago Monday and released the queens on Thursday (neither one had made it out). So it wwould have been at least Thursday before they could start laying. Yesterday, three weeks from the day of installation, there were a lot more bees showing up in one of the hives. Everything I've read said that it takes 20-21 days for worker bees to reach maturity so i should not see new bees until Thursday or Friday this week at the earliest. The number of bees in the other one still looks the same but it's hard to tell. I have an observation window so it's easy to see the bees without going into the hive. Would some of them have decided to move over to a different hive (only a few yards away) after three weeks?

 

[hjsmith00843]

Maybe drifting from your other hive?

 

[BeeGora]

Maybe drifting from your other hive?

It appears that's what's happening. With the observaton window I can check them daily and it's strange that both hives were about the same until Monday and then a bunch of them decided to move over all at once. I don't see anything unusual in the hive they're leaving. Hopefully, I'll see signs of some new young bees this weekend.