Eleven days ago I opened Hive 2 to try and see what was going on. More and more bees were bearding and the hive just appeared to be "off" when compared to the look and activity of Hive 1. Lots of activity but the bees were really hanging around the outside of the hive. What I found made me think it was a queenless hive. The drone comb that had been completely untouched about 3 weeks prior was now almost completely drawn out and lots of eggs were on it. There was still some capped brood in the rest of the hive but not what I would expect and there were not any other eggs. The supersedure cells I found last time were not there and 2 others were in their place. With the rain, I kept feeding them.
I came home Wednesday from a quick trip and what a difference in the hive! No bearding, tons of activity, lots of bees loaded with pollen coming home and a very peaceful sounding buzz coming from the hives. The apiary even smells great! Me thinks the ladies have a new leader of whom they are quite fond. I wish we did!
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