No pictures here, but just an update. In our last episode I realized the Mirror Hive was queen-less and suffering, so we took a frame of bees and brood from another hive to reinforce the hive and perhaps stimulate the production of a new queen. We also, as chance allows occasionally, had a carni queen that was rejected by a nuc I had produced and was in the process of being "balled," ($25 down the drain). I rescued her from that awful fate and unceremoniously placed her in the Mirror Hive with odds of less than 50 percent that she would survive the night there having been no time for the existing bees to aclimated to her scent.
Well, good news. I saw her today running around the brood frames happy as a clam. The worker bees, too, were in better stead now with a new purpose and comb to produce. So recovery looks imminent. Note, though, that this hive will produce Carniolan bees, similar to Russians but with some differences in build-up, colony size, and production.
That said, based upon my inspection of some of the other hives I manage, I am way behind the pack with the Mirror Hive and need time to catch up. In a week I will further strengthen the Mirror Hive with one more frame of brood from another hive and I will feed feed feed.
In the meantime, those of you with very brisk hives should be considering placing the second box on the hive. In a future post I will explain how I suggest you proceed.
Jeff.
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