I finally found her. I saw her for just a couple seconds and then she just dissappeared in the rest of them. Why so shy? The bees were aggressive for about 10 mins and they just calmed way down even though I was only half way through the inspection. First time that happened. I hope they get used to my face and eventually get used to me? It was really strange how fast they cooled their heels.
When I inspected the super, there were tiny ants all over the place. They are not building in there. But they are carrying their larvae in there. This is the second time I have run across this. Such a nuisance.
Somehow, and I have no idea how, I lost one of the caps to one of my honey frames in the super . I looked everywhere I could think of and I have no idea when that happened or what happened to it! I am not sure what to do now. I looked in the frame and only bees were looking back at me so I think they are ok so far. Fingers crossed.
Finally, I planted wildflowers in early April. They are starting to bloom a little now. First time I tried this so I hope it works out well.
Sometimes queens are happy to stay in sight, even lay eggs in sight. Other times they get out of sight as quickly as possible.
I have a theory that when queens are moving around quickly during an inspection, they sense the mood of the colony, which could possibly turn on her and ball her to death. I love to see a queen that is nice and relaxed, I feel that she is out of danger, and all is good.
Don’t get tricked into thinking that bees get used to you. They only view us as another predator, especially seeing as we exhale CO2.
Just wondering, how long have you had your colony? It’s possible they might not be ready for the super, judging by ants roaming around in it.
Edit - now I remember your previous posts! Guess your bees are too busy packing honey to care about the ants?? That is annoying. I once found a whole colony lodged between the laminated sheets of a particularly cheap inner cover. I ended up chucking the whole thing
OK, thank you. As someone who has been raised in places with some really dangerous snakes and insects, I am constantly thinking about how sure this is cute but they could also really damage me if I do not take precautions. But, this is definitely my first year beekeeping so I am always surprised in one way or another that I had not read about or learned prior this starting.
Well, they were really just storing up next to the drain cap on the super and I could not find any in the super itself thank goodness. The super is FULL of bees and they were just working away while I did the inspection. They barely noticed me. The brood box is definitely where the attention is always given, justifiably.
. I looked everywhere I could think of and I have no idea when that happened or what happened to it! I am not sure what to do now. I looked in the frame and only bees were looking back at me so I think they are ok so far. Fingers crossed.