Day 6: Eggs!

Teeny tiny bee eggs, as seen on black Pierco frame inserts.

Ted and I opened up the hive today to look for evidence of freshly laid eggs. With the recent wet weather, it was impossible to find any dry fuel in the yard for the smoker, so I used some junkmail. This approach worked imperfectly for a very short amount of time. Due to a weekend away, we also opened up much later in the day than would have been ideal, so the inspection was kept to a minimum. I loosened the center frame and pulled it up to see dozens of eggs in lovely new white comb. This quieted my fears that I had squished the queen last time I opened the hive :) Ted also spotted the queen with his flashlight, who is marked with a yellow dot. What we saw looks very much like this image I borrowed from the Peace Bee Farmer blog--though clearly they were performing their inspection at a more appropriate time of day.


Today also marks my first sting from one of my own bees. Somehow a bee managed to sneak up my pant leg while we were closing up the hive. Ted gave a puff of smoke up the cuff once I discovered that there was a waylaid bee, however it was too late. I came inside, and immediately took of the pants--the felines were delighted to bat at and chew the dying bee.