Saturday was a beautiful day so I decided to do a thorough hive check. Click on images to enlarge.
(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4777/framefromtopbroodboxhg7.th.jpg) (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=framefromtopbroodboxhg7.jpg)
This is a frame from the upper chamber. A few weeks ago, this was the lower chamber and there was very little activity so I switched boxes. Seems to be working fairly well.
(http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/8947/lowerframewu8.th.jpg) (http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lowerframewu8.jpg)
This is a frame from the lower chamber where the queen is. 8 of the ten frames look just like this. The other two are sorta light. If you look at the lower left side of the foundation, I think I spy a developing Queen cell. It's too cold today to open up the box to check. Will have to wait until mid-week. I hope this doesn't present a problem...
Yep, queen cell on bottom left. Keep an eye on things, she looks like she's laying ok, but look for more cells as time progresses. Was this a package installation?
...JP
Hi JP. No, this is a one year old hive. The original Queen swarmed last May and this is her replacement.
(http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7087/queendetailoo5.th.jpg) (http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=queendetailoo5.jpg)