The two smaller swarms ended up dying due to a freeze we had this last weekend. The temp got down to 36 degrees and they were not able to keep themselves warm. I found them still hanging onto the wax that they started drawing out just frozen in place. =( I'll have to see what I can do in the future so that any smallish swarms do not end up dying due to my inexperience.
The three other hives are thriving. I need to get back in there (hopefully tonight) and get the last queen's box out of the second of the packaged bees. They are building comb like mad and they are still thriving. They're very intent in their work and I've see the eggs so I hope to have new baby bees soon. The more I learn about bees from physically working with them the more thrilled I am.
I am having a bit of trouble with one of my hives. I used the slats that I purchased online for that one but they keep sliding off of one side and it's making their comb building get all funky. They build the comb inbetween two frames which isn't what they are supposed to do, but what are you going to do with nature? The bee bath is going well. Apparently it's already claimed the life of a wasp. I was able to fill up the water yesterday and it was nice that I did not have to go out there every day to give them more water.
I'm thinking about taking off a slat from the back fence of the bee area to allow for more sunlight to make it into the hives. I hope that works with the back neighbors. We'll see.
When I go look at the bees they are very intent in their work. They are busy, busy, busy building comb and filling in the comb with eggs and honey and nectar so that the baby bees can thrive.
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