The days are getting hotter and the bees need to bring more water to the hive. They travel not only to the chicken waterer, but to a little fountain we have on the deck, and even to puddles they find.
It's funny to watch the bees drink because their bodies expand and compress while they take in water - they look like little accordions!
These two gals are taking a moment to soak up the rays at their "beach".
This is a drone (male) bee. See how much bigger his eyes and wings are? (The photo is NOT the same scale as the one above it.)
Jeff continues to inspect the hive each week to make sure the queen is laying eggs, and that the bees are continuing to form comb on the frames we provide.
Sometimes they form "free comb" between the frames, and it has to be removed so it doesn't block the bees' access... or ours! The bees also make a waxy substance to seal up any cracks in the hive. Sometimes it can glue the supers together, making inspections difficult.
Jeff is comfortable wearing only his veil now that the bees have settled in their hives. He's not afraid of being stung as he moves slowly and carefully.
You can see that the frame tilted against the hive is empty. The bees have a little more work to do before we can add on the next level. Hurry up, bees!
Jeff removes the natural menthol packet from the hive. It has been in there for two weeks - long enough for the vapors to eradicate any tracheal mites.
This is the view looking down into the assembled hive.
On the upper left, you see a single bee going down between the first frame and the second. Each frame is like an apartment building, with cells of eggs, larvae, water, pollen, nectar, and honey.
In the center of the photo are the bees attending to the various cells on one side of a frame. Each frame has two sides.
On the right, the upper frames have been taken out, and you can see the frames in the level beneath. There are ten frames on each level of the hive.
If you imagine a skyscraper, with floors full of offices, you can get an idea of what life in the beehive is like.
Here is a closeup, looking almost straight down into the hive. The bees are all clinging to the cells, which open sideways. On each frame of the hive, hundreds of bees go about their various duties, peering into each cell.
Here is a closeup of some egg cells in the comb.
Jeff is pointing to a bee egg in the top row of cells. See it? Me neither! But it's really there. Look closely for a small, horizontal line on the right side of the bottom of the center cell in the top row...
(Jeff was gone week four.)
