Who Are These Bees?

After a year and a half of working with this colony, I am completely shocked at their new temperament! They have never been so nice to me! I started the inspection very worried about them, the last time that I checked in on them I thought there was something very wrong. I was so scared that they were dying. The colony had gotten very small and they seemed to not be doing well. I had also found a couple of wax moth larvae during the last inspection.

For this inspection I borrowed a macro lens to try to get close up pictures of as much of the hive as I could. I knew that I was going to be doing this inspection by myself. Since I was so worried and not going to have any help, I wanted all of the pictures that I could get. I love that Lens Pro to Go is so close and I can pick up equipment whenever I need.

While inspecting this hive I spotted the queen, eggs, larvae, and capped brood. There was also a lot of honey and nectar. There were lots of eggs and larvae in all stages. The bees have stored up a good amount of pollen. There were several full bars of honey in the hive. I did not find any more evidence of wax moths or any other pests. The conclusion that I have come to is that they must have swarmed in early July and that is why they looked so weak.

With these bees being so pleasant, it was very easy to do a very thorough inspection. The bees barely paid attention to me. One of the bars had some honey comb that was bulging out a little. When I took that bar out I bumped the bulge and some honey spilled. The bees were so quick to clean it up. I got some great pictures of the bees working hard cleaning up the mess that I made.

In the end, everything worked out fine. I was able to get a lot of pictures of the bees and the comb. As I was inspecting the hive, I had a sense of relief come over me since I was able to find the queen and lots of eggs. It was so good to know that they were actually thriving and not dying. They have everything that they need and they are growing well. Since I was feeling better about the colony, I did not feel the need to get pictures of all of the combs like I had planned to. This all made the inspection much more relaxed.

The very best part of this inspection was the temperament of the bees. They were so pleasant for the first time in a long time. During the inspection no one tried to sting me, they seemed to not mind me at all. After the inspection, no one followed me. I was able to walk easily away from the hive and to my car without any company. I hope that things stay this way!