It was finally time to inspect the wooden hive to see what the aftermath of the second supersedure attempt was.On inspection, the supersedure cell had hatched normally (the bottom was nicely chewed open, not damaged from the side). There was also signs of eggs, larvae and some capped brood. Its difficult to know whether these were laid by that recently hatched queen, or by her ‘failing’ mother, or even a situation of having 2 active queens. However, the eggs at least let me know that laying is ongoing, which means someone is keeping the line alive.
With the extra confusion, I’ve decided to stick with the name Alice, and not come up with another one.
Poly and Heather were also both doing nicely, with Heather having taken down a gallon of feed in 3 days! However there were signs of bright orange pollen (probably Rock Rose) coming in to both hives, and lots of flying bees, so I’m confident the June Gap has indeed finished.
I also added division boards (kindly made for me out of foamex plastic) to all three hives. This should stop the buildup of brace comb at the edges.
Todo
Keep an eye on the super in Poly, see if they need a second one. - DONE - added 10/07/09
Check Alice to look for continued queen health. - DONE: Good brood pattern and eggs laid on 20/07/09
