So, my mentor let me down once again so its me and you. You have been alot of help and I have not seen the frames for two weeks. So I inspected today. The two queen cells are gone and they are building comb on number 3 and 7 with some filled with either nectar or syrup or both. The number 6 frame has all stages of brood :) I see little eggs in the center and larvae curled in a u shape and even capped all near each other. This is on both sides of the frame. I am so glad to finally see eggs. I still could not pick out the queen though. Maybe next time.
I always like to see her but if I see eggs or very small larvae I don't look very hard. As soon as I see one or the other I close it up and move to the next one.
Steve
I haven't seen my queen since she was let loose 5 weeks ago. Frame after frame after frame of brood is all I need to see to know she's doing well.
I agree with the eggs and brood thing. However, I like the warm and fuzzy you get when you see her.
As a pretty new beek myself, I had trouble spotting the queen. BUT once I did see her, it has been much easier finding her since.
I went the whole first year looking without luck :oops:
But as long as I saw young brood I didn't let it worry me. I still have a hard time seeing eggs. But, with time comes experience and knowing where and when to look.
Good luck with your bees.
hjohn. For me it takes some direct sunlight and moving the frame around in different positions. If that don't work; another great thing is the jewelers visors. They make finding eggs easy.