I think I have lost my queen. I also think I have no brood in the comb. That is a double "oh no".

The Queen: Her royal highness had clipped wings. I know because I saw her last evening outside of the hive. (In fact, she sort of popped out of the bottom entrance as I was musing over the wiggling of a worker.) She tried to fly and only got as far as she did because the wind was blowing strongly. I picked her up with a stick and a tiny burdock leaf and put her back on the landing board. She tried to fly again. 

This happened multiple times during which I crowded another bee next to her and observed her more closely than I had had a chance to when installing the package. The other bees really seemed not to be interested in her--NOT a good sign. She also seemed a little clumsy and aimless (I read later than queens are graceful--this gal was not), which if you have ever spent time observing insects, is how they behave if they are sick or dying.

After she plopped again into the grass (for the last time according to my observations), I took my Lymie, incoherent self into the apartment to ask my groggy Grandpa if queen bees wings were supposed to be that short. After a somewhat round about and round about we go sort of conversation, during which I was having difficulty getting enough "oomph" out of my lungs for him to hear me, I went back out and could not locate the queen again.  (By the way, the answer was what I expected...no. Some beekeepers clip their queen's wings to keep them from flying [which I guess would  help with spring swarming issues], but naturally they are supposed to reach about twice the length this bees were.)

So, I am going to assume I have no queen for two reasons: 1) with those wings, she could not fly and therefore she could not get back into the hive...unless she crawled the entire way--which is possible. 2) She was acting rather ill and the workers really weren't paying her any mind. As Mr. Bush says, "Don't assume that you know more than the bees..."

I know, that if there is brood in the hive, that the bees will raise themselves a new queen if the old one dies, is killed, or absconds for whatever reason. So I determined that if I did naught else today, I was going to check my hives.

Which I did...before breakfast--but that is rather another story.

No brood: At least, as far as I could tell, I have no brood in the comb. I do have some capped honey (yes!), but no brood. This tells me that the queen had not started laying; either that or she hadn't been bred yet. The frames are not full of comb (more than last week though!) With the absence of a queen a worker bee will take on that role, but the eggs she lays will all be drones (I think--I might want to double check that). 

There might be a supercedure cell being constructed (where they will raise a new queen--providing there is brood), but I do not know for certain; I am not quite sure how to tell.

All in all, it looks as if I need a new queen...and that I shouldn't fritter about for two weeks before I get one either.

Well, I peered into my hive for the first time today since installation. 

I noticed sometime around Saturday that the bees were not mobbing the feeder as they had been previously. My external inspections showed bees going in and out of the hive and always some buzzing about. In fact, yesterday when I was out there, (no protective gear on my daily jaunts to go stare at bees, of course...it's not necessary when I'm just looking :D), one of the bees, attracted by the sun flashing off my wrist watch, flew up and landed on me. I also had on a bright red shirt so they came buzzing over to inspect me. It's kind of cool to have these bugs flying about and know that they are "yours"--as much as an insect can be! Having lived across the road from bee hives in the past, I knew that bees are attracted to bright colors and it's best to just stand still or slowly move away from them--they'll get bored if you don't smell sweet. ;)

Anyway...I zippered up and slipped my net over my hat and pulled my gloves on. Gathering up my hive tool, bee brush, and frame grip (great tool!), I headed out. I decided not to bother firing up the smoker, but to just work around the bees. 

I didn't do much other than take the top off and pull each frame at least part way out and looked at the growing expanse of wax. I was fighting "newness" and so forgot to look for the queen. A chunk broke off and I forgot until after I had brought it in (and managed to break it more) that according to Mr. Bush, I could have tied it back onto the frame. 

That is a regular sized soup plate. Most of the frames (five) had that much comb or or more on them. I don't know how much honey they all have in them since I didn't brush the bees off any of the rest of it. It seems to be slightly precarious at this point...

In case you are wondering, those dark spots are mold (I am assuming without tasting it!) Before I freaked out about it, I went and looked up mold in honey comb. Turns out, it isn't really much of a problem since the bees will eventually get it cleaned up--once the number of bees reaches a point where they can keep up with everything. Fascinating stuff...

Oh, and that honey? It tastes good!! It's real light flavored... (It tastes different from the stuff I've been feeding them.)

And one other note...the clover will be blooming all over the place soon! YIPPEE!!

My bees arrived this morning!! 

Promptly after eating breakfast (which I confess is rather a late affair for me, due in part to Lyme meds taken between coffee and breakfast requiring a 45 minute buffer time), I wiggled into that nearly too-tight nomex (Air Force surplus), tied my hat on, and slipped the veil over the top. Collecting my hive-tool and my bees, I headed for the south portion of the backyard.

Rather than following the included directions on how to install a package of bees into a hive, I followed Micheal Bush's method...which, after I read the directions post-installation, I found were nearly 180* to what I did.

To begin with, I removed the covering and with a little assistance, removed the syrup can. The queen cage was supposed to be attached, but it had fallen off into the shipping box...and someone else spotted it after it had been dumped into the nuc. (Yes, the whole family was standing around the whole time...but I was the only one with protective gear on.)

Next step required slamming the shipping container into the ground to knock the bees loose and then pour them into the hive; it took a few slams...and then I broke the box apart after a fashion to get the last of the bees out.

I got the queen cage out of the bottom of the hive and ended up removing the screen over the top and just releasing her straight into the hive. I get the impression from my reading that that is supposedly the most tricky way to release a queen, but it seemed to work just fine.

Probably the trickiest part, for me, was putting the frames into the hive without smushing bees. I think I have discovered that you can gently smash a bee without doing it any harm...

Using a chick water tray as a feeder wasn't the most brilliant idea that I ever dreamed up...but for now it'll have to do. The poor bees were getting totally covered in honey. Last time I looked they were still busy cleaning themselves and each other off--but they had the jar practically empty.

Per Mr. Bush's suggestion, I left the lid off for a bit while they flew around and got orientated. It was a little tricky getting it on when I did put it on because the bees were all over the rim. I think I eventually got it on without squishing any of them...the bee brush came in real handy for that!

Random observations: 

• I didn't get stung...though I think I spotted a bee stinging my glove.
• I think I can identify the queen next time I spot her.
• I saw at least two drones.
• It is an interesting sensation to have bees buzzing all over your gloves. I'm not kidding, I could feel the vibration of their wings through my gloves. 

I look forward to peering into the hive in a few days (Mr. Bush recommends letting them alone for 3-5 days before checking them) and seeing how they are coming along.

Thus begins my beekeeping adventure!

My bees were shipped today (supposedly), so I expect to get them either tomorrow or the day after. I ended up ordering a package from Pigeon Mountain Trading Company out of north Georgia.

Daddy and I spent part of the afternoon moving my hive from where I had set it up (too much in the shade--like completely in the shade) to a better spot. Yesterday Daddy got the frames fixed up with a strip of wood from the top to give the bees something to work off of since I'm going foundationless. 

Upon further reading, I think I am ready to address myself to installing my package of bees. I'm a wee bit nervous and so grateful that tomorrow is supposed to be fairly cool--which will cause the bees to be even more docile than they might otherwise be. 

I made myself a hat net yesterday since I didn't buy any protective gear. You may raise your eyebrows and open your eyes wide, but when I saw that the stuff is simply cotton suits and net and generally leather gloves, I figured I could do without spending the extra money for "special" gear and just wear jeans, a long sleeve shirt, my leather gloves (probably rubber banded down over my sleeves), and my cowboy hat with a net over it. That is why I took a piece of netting yesterday and made a net to drape over my hat. I think I had better go put a ribbon through my hat like on my old hat so I can tie it on in case the wind is kicking like it is today when I need to wear it.

At any rate, I look forward to the adventure!