This was the first time this hive has ever been feisty - the guard bees were not happy I was poking around but since we've had a hatching, I wanted to see where both queens were within the hive.
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| Sasha I - An emergency queen born from the spring split. |
I found Sasha I right away in the middle box (remember I'm using three medium supers instead of two deeps). She's not really laying anymore. There are a few cells in the bottom box with young larvae but I didn't see any eggs.
The top box is full of bees but they are not drawing out the comb yet. They are feeding like mad from the top feeder as nectar is low this time of summer. The middle box is being used for some brood but mainly for storing nectar/sugar syrup.
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| Sasha II - The supersedure Queen. |
Located the new queen in the bottom box. As her queen cell was much larger than the one made for the emergency queen, I was expecting her to be larger upon birth. If all goes well, she'll begin to lay eggs anytime after July 26. Shortly after Sasha II is mated and begins laying eggs, the worker bees will kill Sasha I by "balling" her, clustering tightly around her until she dies from overheating.
I'm sad to know my first home-grown queen didn't perform as needed but am hopeful Sasha II will be a good queen and get this hive going. The population in the hive is good right now. They can take care of it for a bit while the new queen mates and begins to take charge. Hopefully Sasha II will give them a lot more brood in order to be a vibrant hive going into the fall.
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