Queen Check

We're pretty heavy with all the bee entries of late, especially after going almost a year without any.
And tho' now it's fall, I'm just crossing my fingers that the little buggers are doing what's necessary for a safe and uneventful winter; I've been staying out of their way.
Meaning, there's been no interference from me with regard to opening up the hive to take a gander, nor did I end up treating for mites or other potentially troublesome and deadly threats to their well being.
After consulting with a few pros and reading even more websites, it would seem just leaving them to their nature is best.
About a month ago, per suggested, I did stick a rock in the entrance cutting off 2/3 of the area in an effort to keep robber bees and yellow jackets at bay.
(It's easier for guard bees to defend a smaller opening.)
The two remaining traps have caught more flies with the fetid contents than its intended target, but those few being dead and all make for less trouble, doncha think?
I'll also likely add some hardware cloth there after the weather turns and they are all snuggled in for the duration to keep out mice.
(That's all I need- for those fuckers to go ruin my hive after destroying so many other things around the 'ol Homestead, including OUR CARS!
WHY? We have CATS! Remember? A LOT! So what's with the rodents? Argh.)

And that swarm from the spring?
A GOOD thing!
Without getting too technical, breaking up the 'brood' cycle is an excellent defense against the Varroa.
That said, I'm still toying with the notion that joining our local bee keeping association might be wise, but that everything's so Langstroth centered with the priority being honey production, I am hesitant.

Keeping with the tradition of these bee entries being posted all willy-nilly and out of sequence, we continue the saga to the >Queen Check<.
That still leaves the actual installation story, which I promise you, will come in due course.

Three days after the 2# Package (heh heh) is installed (the remaining blog post for publication) you're supposed to open up the hive to make sure the workers have let the Queen out of her box by eating the gum drop (this will make sense later) and not killed her or allowed her to hitch a ride to follow The Dead or Phish or whatever it is the kids are doing nowadays.
The goal is to see that buzzing activity with comb building, nectar procurement, and eggs being laid to populate the colony.
Which means, you gotta find that knocked-up female who's visited the drone layer at least a few times to get all filled up with enough semen to make little bee babies for the whole of her life, 3 yrs. or so.
HA
Not me, mate!
I didn't know what the hell I was doing (the re-occurring theme here, in case you've not picked up on that.)
It was all I could do to get the damn lid off.
Locating and identifying the broad, let alone the specific cells, was way beyond me.
But I put on a good show-
got all suited up, made my own tinder out of leftover Zabby bed stuffing, chicken nesting & vitamin bottle cotton (thank you, Depression-era grandparents who taught me to save ev.ver.ry.thing, cuz ya' never know!)
Grabbed the brush, matches, smoker and headed out with fingers crossed.
Getting inside was surprising not all that hard.
Granted, I think I did likely damn near asphyxiate the poor little things senseless, but that allowed me confidence to get it opened, lift up the bar I'd taped the Important Box to see whether or not it contained a dried up, dead big bee and pretend to check on the different types of brood development.
I never did find her; I never pried up any other bars to even look.
I just assumed things were all good.
There might have been a large contingent attending to Her Royal Highness, but I couldn't be sure.
But absolutely lots of bees, shit was definitely happening.
The masking tape had been chewed off and dropped to the bottom, as had her cage, where I retrieved it after lifting that second box.
Then after reassembling the units, I retreated, breathing a large sigh of relief I'd not killed them before during of after this bee keeping milestone.
Or even been stung.

CAM was so thrilled with himself to identify this large-eyed drone making his way out to the world