2024 Cliffe Castle Bee Blog #9
We had a good inspection on Spring Bank Holiday Monday. Steve and I checked the bees for the first time in three weeks since Mike and I left an open queen cell in place for the bees to raise a new queen.
Steve spotted our new queen, who is still small and quite colourful. She needs to complete her mating flight/s to be able to lay eggs and keep the colony populated. We did not find eggs, but the house bees have been preparing for this. There are several frames of comb with very clean, shiny, cells ready to tempt the new queen to lay in them when she is ready.
We removed a frame of capped stores (honey), replacing it with a frame of fresh beeswax foundation. Now the young house bees can draw (make) some clean comb as an enticing place for the queen to lay. The frame we removed will be kept as a winter food source for the colony when it returns to the ABKA Apiary in the autumn.
Hopefully, Mike and I will find eggs next week and we will be able to catch and mark the new queen, to make her easier to see. We will be sure to take a photo, so that you can try to spot her too when you visit Cliffe Castle!