A good number of bees are transferred safely into their new TopBar Hive and my chief concern is to establish whether or not the queen is present and undamaged. The hive was well sterilized previously by scorching the wood.
I am feeding them with sugar water (1:1) and also Ambrosia fondant which is suspended from two of the top bars present within the cluster seen below.
The bees seem to have cleared much of the honey from the discarded comb left imediately outside, so this has since been taken away.
24th June and two weeks later I find laying workers - Oh dear I should have taken action on my first suspicions of queenlessness. I imagine the shakeown was done soon after the colony had swarmed and the unborne queen could have been lost within the discarded combs. Best advice from Phil Chandler is now to shake out the colony some way away from original hive location and introduce a new queen or brood comb to the returning flying bees. The laying bees will be left behind but would only kill a new queen.
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Maturing drones and multiple eggs laid by workers (Latest Image taken on 23rd June) |
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1:1 Sugar water feed jars |
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Bees chose this end to start on where fondant is suspended from two of the top bars |
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Opened hive lid is hinged |
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Entrance holes on this side of the hive are replicated on the opposite side |
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The sides have a viewing window |
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Discarded comb |
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What's going on here? |
Sugar Water
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Where is the queen ? |
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