Mysterious Queen

My bees have travelled so many miles in the last year; too many miles.  I worry about them.  When they first came to me we were based in Slough.  They were so good; calm, busy and happy.

When we moved to Ickenham I couldn't take them with me into my garden.  It was a hard loss.  I missed them then and I miss them still.  For me, part of the great joy of keeping bees has always been to walk down the garden path with my early morning cup of coffee, and sit with them for a while.  I watch them on their way, I see the interactions at their guarded front doorway.  I can throw my head back and watch them go into the wide blue sky, circling up into the trees and clouds and great big world.

But now I had to move them away.  They travelled the M25 with me, north to Cheshunt, where - for a year - Paula and Rod helped guard them for me.  I hope they found the everyday joy I always did.

Now I have moved them again; closer to where I live.  I simply couldn't sustain the weekly round trip of 60 miles to do my duty by the livestock.  I had to bring them closer to home.  So they have come down again, around the M25.  Now they live where I work.  Part of that is a new joy - the opportunity to spend my lunchtimes at the hive.  We have a new home and I hope I don't have to move them again in a long, long time.

I have never seen this Queen.  She is elusive.  I can never find Her.  But She is a hard worker; She lays like a fiend - except for when the hive is moved.  Last year, in Cheshunt, She didn't lay for the first few weeks they were there.  So now I am expecting Her to do the same.

When I opened the hive for the first time on Monday, I knew what I would see - I had left something of a shameful mess of frames and dummy boards in the main brood box over winter.  Some of the frames the bees just didn't like.  So the brood box was half empty; part old dark frames, part nothing.  The half on top was full; busy, buzzing and messed with frames too full of pollen and honey.  Some brood - but not much and no eggs that I could see.  And still no sight of the Queen ....

I had an awesome experience last week with the Beekeepers.  They showed me how they did Shook Swarms on all their hives - or at least as many as conditions allowed.  I was shocked - so early in the season, so vulnerable did it make the hives, yet they are convinced it makes for healthy, disease-free hives.  So I knew what had to be done with mine, except that I am a coward.  I hate the thought of removing so much rich, healthy brood from the hive in exchange for fresh, unworked foundation.  So I only did half.  More fool me perhaps, but it is what it is.

On Friday I made up a set of new foundation on new frames, and lugged them all down to the hive - it's a long walk, perhaps too long - we shall see.

Oh, those bees are lovely.  I had a wondrous half-hour with them.  They buzzed calmly around me, sat upon me, did what bees do.  I set up a new floor.  I put down a Queen Excluder (to keep Her inside in case She wanted to abscond for the temporary lack of honeycomb to lay in).  I opened the roof, removed the feed, removed the crownboard.  I shook off 4 frames of the top half, and placed new in.  Then I moved the half onto the new floor (I'd heard from The Man at the Bee Shop that works better for brood-and-a-half - we shall see).

Next I tackled the brood box.  Oh, I hope I didn't kill the Queen!  I replaced six frames with fresh and made it all look nice and better again in there.  I feel less guilty about that now ...

With everything refreshed - not a true Shook Swarm  - but new frames for them to work and a freshened up feel to the hive, I gave them feed and sealed it all up, and moved it all into position.  I looked into the front door and saw the QX drooping a bit.  "Oh dear," I thought, "She might escape through there."

I looked around for a solution - aha!  Two little sticks to stand up in the entrance - holding up the QX.  Except I'd removed my gloves.  "Oh well," I thought, "I'll risk it".  And with bare hands I delved into the hive and wedged the sticks into position.

Two bees came pinging out at me and I stepped back cautiously.  But no stings.  Oh, how I love these bees!

I took the old frames home and yesterday, spent a fun half hour going through the honeycomb with a magnifying glass and a torch.  And look what I found (see photo below).  Brand new baby brood. 

Oh, Mysterious Queen, thou art fine and wondrous indeed!