Let's try again

2024: Cliffe Castle Bee Blog #11

Steve and I went back to the Observation Hive this morning to provide the bees with material from which to raise a new queen. We also needed to dispose of the current, queen-in-residence, who has not mated successfully.

We could have introduced a frame of eggs and young larvae, from another colony of bees, so that they could rear a replacement queen. Instead, I brought a frame containing a queen cell and some sealed brood, already raised by another colony of bees, and we put this in the middle section of the Observation Hive.

The bees were quite agitated today, but not aggressive. This shows how concerned they are about the welfare of their colony, without a functioning queen. Hopefully the queen cell will help them settle down and we have intervened just in time!

So, now we are back to waiting, for the new queen to emerge from her cell, complete her mating flight/s and begin to lay eggs. We will need to be patient now until 1 July. Fingers crossed for some better, more settled, weather, to give her a chance to complete these important life stages.