Let There Be Queens

Can I tell you how nervous I was to do the first full inspection of the hives? The idea of opening up each hive, pulling out the frames for inspection and having all these bees just there, freaked me out! I had done my research and knew what we needed to look for but the idea of actually DOING it was another story all together. But after a full week of the girls being in place and doing their thing it was time to dive in and look around.

I'm not sure I could describe the feeling adequately. I had a blast! And after being afraid of bees my whole life (something about being allergic and all) and then standing between three hives and holding a frame FULL of bees I was floored.

All the research I did came nowhere close to preparing me for this rush!

We dove in to each of the boxes and most importantly located all three queens! I heard in a recent webinar that some beekeepers go years without finding and identifying their queens. Not sure how accurate that was and I honestly don't care, I was just thrilled! This is the Queen of Hive 3....

On top of find all three ladies I was able to identify the honey (capped and uncapped), larvae and some phenomenal pollen storage. When it was all said and done, I was so ready for all that is to come. Any doubt I had that becoming a #backyardbeekeper quickly diminished and my excitement came in full force.