It’s March, ya’ll! That means we are inching our way towards spring and I cannot wait. This weekend was BEE-utiful in Southwest VA. The kiddo and I played golf, we did some outside clean-up from the winter, and I moved my hive box around. I checked the upper box earlier in the week and was SO amazed and proud to see the bees were enjoying the sugar I left, and there were signs of a working Queen as I saw larvae in different age stages! We had a cold snap, and we are not out of winter just yet, so I wanted to take advantage of the day and move the medium box (which was on top) to the bottom and place the deep box on top. I cleaned off some burr comb and put everything back in its place. This part of pre-spring inspection is complete for Hive 2. I had hoped to get more pictures, but I was working quick as the girls were pinging my suit in an effort to tell me to BUZZ OFF! Maybee next time!
I am also hoping to catch a feral bee swarm. The picture with the white box is a nuc box, which is a 3-5 frame box that houses a nucleus colony of bees. The frames I have inside are full of old brood comb, which apparently smells like home to bees who have outgrown their current hive or split with a new Queen. Lastly, if Hive 2 does well, I may do a “walk away split.” If Hive 2 remains strong, I may be able to take some of the larvae filled frames, place it in another hive box, and let the bees raise a new Queen. IF and when this happens, I’ll write more about this process. It’s very cool!
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