First full check

Today I did the first really full check of all the colonies. Three weeks have passed, so I figured everyone is settled in.

The hive in Max's yard is doing fine. Plenty of brood in a good pattern, plenty of stores and good pollen stocks.

Three of the four out in the field also look good. Good brood patterns, active foragers, stores and pollen. Some of the comb is badly drawn in all the hives--"floating" comb as I think of it. I decided to leave it for now. I assume the girls wanted large cells for quick storage--that's what they're using it for.

But the forth hive is in trouble. They've decided to replace their queen--and rightly so. The brood pattern is spotty with too many drones. There's one sealed queen cell and one in the works. I'm going to let them finish raising a queen for themselves, feed them well, and hope for the best.

I bought a Nicot system for queen rearing, and this confirms the need to me. These girls may well raise a queen that will do just fine... But I think I'd like to raise a few to have on hand for splits and emergencies.

I noticed that most of the foragers in the backyard hive are heading toward the swap across the road and a bit west. Right now, we have willows, dandelions, daffodils, maples, oaks, and no doubt other things I don't see. I never did see the girls working the violets; forget-me-nots have replaced the violets, and I don't see them working those, either.

Wikipedia has a really nice site on nectar and pollen for honeybees.