It is nice to report that everything looks good at both apiaries... I hope that I am not jinxing myself! In Chanhassen:
The original colony with its new queen: The hive was calm, and healthy. The new queen had laid her first eggs! So nature did work. She had taken her mating flight and came back home. What a relief that nothing happen to her during that crucial period of her life. Long Live our Queen! Since the hive was doing so well, some frames weigh about a pound or more. It was time to add one super for the surplus honey.
The swarm colony with the old queen, (I should say with the original queen), is back to normal. She is laying eggs beautifully in a solid and uniform pattern. We hope she is happy and will stay home. The workers had collected a lot of nectar, and we also placed one super on top of the 2 big boxes.
In Shakopee:
The Green Italian congregation is doing fantastically. When we opened the cover, we could smell the sweet honey...no kidding. Each frames were a struggle to lift; they are so heavy, full of nectar, brood and honey. We had had a lot of heavy downpours in the past week, and I noticed that at the bottom of the hive, some water had collected. Ben inclined the whole colony by placing some rocks under it. We hope that will help with drainage. This is one thing that the bees hate the most... being damp.
The Purple hive of Carniolian honey bees, has done a wonderful job of drawing their combs since last inspection. However they still have some room in their 2- deep hive bodies. Therefore no addition of space was necessary yet. To encourage them to " finish" drawing , we placed a one gallon pail of 1:1 syrup. The Varroa mites are still present, I am still waiting for the Thymol to be delivered.
I am very happy to report that finally, there are plants in the fields that are blooming..... lots of pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, a patch of strawberries. And of course greens and onions. Not a bad diet for the honey bees!
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