Sofia (age 9) and I went out and did our first full hive inspection of the spring, where we take everything apart, examine frames, honey stores and search for eggs, larvae and brood. We also observe for evidence that the bees are bringing in nectar and pollen. The goal isn't necessarily to spot the queen, but to find evidence of her, which we certainly did! Sofia really wanted to find the queen and I wasn't sure that we would see her, but after about the 8th frame or so there she was! You can see her on the top right photo, a little bit above center. Her body is darker and with less distinct striations. She is unmarked in this photo - and I know that the queen that was originally placed with this hive last spring was marked, so the hive successfully requeened at some point since then.
Thinking back, this was the hive that swarmed at the end of June 2014. Now it makes sense! When a hive swarms, the existing queen, having run out of room within the hive bodies, leaves with about half of the existing colony. The marked queen is the one who left with the swarm! Prior to her departure, the colony prepares swarm cells in the hopes of raising a replacement queen. The queen in the photo above is of the queen who 'won the crown'. Beautiful.
There are some beekeepers out there who say the strongest queens are not the ones that you order when your existing queen starts slowing down her egg production or the one that you get delivered with your new 3 lb. package in the spring. They argue that the strongest queens are the ones who who have to fight for survival and who mate with a larger pool of genetically diverse drones. This queen was not artificially inseminated back at a queen farm, but perhaps did battle with other potential queens and won, then flew up and found a drone congregating area and mated, and then safely returned to the hive, all on her own, all via her own inborn instinct. And that, some say, makes her stronger, which means her offspring will also be stronger. Here's hoping!
There is very little left in terms of honey stores in this hive, but the bees' pollen pockets were full and there was uncapped nectar in many of the cells. I have my fingers crossed for a successful season and a bursting colony.
Video of our Queen:
Thinking back, this was the hive that swarmed at the end of June 2014. Now it makes sense! When a hive swarms, the existing queen, having run out of room within the hive bodies, leaves with about half of the existing colony. The marked queen is the one who left with the swarm! Prior to her departure, the colony prepares swarm cells in the hopes of raising a replacement queen. The queen in the photo above is of the queen who 'won the crown'. Beautiful.
There are some beekeepers out there who say the strongest queens are not the ones that you order when your existing queen starts slowing down her egg production or the one that you get delivered with your new 3 lb. package in the spring. They argue that the strongest queens are the ones who who have to fight for survival and who mate with a larger pool of genetically diverse drones. This queen was not artificially inseminated back at a queen farm, but perhaps did battle with other potential queens and won, then flew up and found a drone congregating area and mated, and then safely returned to the hive, all on her own, all via her own inborn instinct. And that, some say, makes her stronger, which means her offspring will also be stronger. Here's hoping!
There is very little left in terms of honey stores in this hive, but the bees' pollen pockets were full and there was uncapped nectar in many of the cells. I have my fingers crossed for a successful season and a bursting colony.
Video of our Queen: