A visitor

I was at the apiary on Sunday morning enjoying the sun and the peaceful surroundings.  Seems I wasn't the only one!

I think he's a Roe Deer, but I'm not certain.

The bees are ok.  I went through both hives in detail.  Some queen cups but no signs of real queen cells.  Some good solid brood also, but there is still plenty of space.

I started to feed the old hive that is in one deep.  This hive is starting to draw out comb in the second upper deep so I thought some 2:1 would encourage more  building.

The other "swarm" hive is in a stronger state, brood in both deeps but I must do a mite count/treatment. I spotted a few bees with DWV.  A bit worrying!

Queen Uncaged!

At last I got into the Carniolan hive to uncage the queen. This hive is just so sticky with propolis. It was a real struggle to open it up!  When I did and when I got down to the cage I found she had broken out!

I've no idea how long she had been uncaged for (its been 10 days since she was caged) but there was little sign of any new eggs having been laid, which I suppose is good.  Anyway I was beginning to think she had disappeared altogether, and then I spotted her; she seems fine.

I'll do a second mite count in the next couple of weeks or so to see what effect caging her has had!