Day 12: Moving the apiary, and checking for a "good brood pattern"

Hive in its new location, 90 degrees rotated

Plenty of bees and burr comb on the inner cover

With nicer weather it becomes clear just how much our bees love flying into the neighbor's driveway! Wanting to cause as little friction in our new neighborhood as possible, we decided to pick up and move the hive closer to our driveway and garage. Emily was a trooper and suited up for the big move. Eric and Melanie watched from a few feet back. This time we tucked pants into socks to prevent intruders--this makes the bee outfit even cuter! The eggs were maturing perfectly, with visible eggs, tiny hatchlings, small larvae, big larvae, and capped pupae. It seems that the queen and her attending workers have been exceedingly busy in the last six days. I can't wait until the new bees start to hatch, which should be in the next 10 days. The hive feeder was nearly empty, so we refilled with sugar syrup, drowning only a few poor bees. There were only 2 completely empty frames left, so it won't be long before we can put the second brood box on. Many a bee were still flying in the old hive location, but I have been reassured a thousand times that there are still thousands of bees left in the hive. I hope the 90 degree rotation doesn't throw off their waggle dances for long.

Really beautiful picture showcasing several stages of baby bee development, worker bees, a few big drones, and a nice stash of bright orange pollen around the perimeter.