Week 14 and the BeeHiveCastle is at an important decision point! The bees were calm throughout the inspection and the bottom box looks healthy with lots of capped brood, fresh eggs and larvae confirming the queen is active and laying well. She wasn't spotted today but with fresh eggs present she was definitely laying within the last 72 hours.
This inspection brought some important observations that led to a change in plans for this season. The brood frames show the bees have been storing nectar and sugar water from feeding but the overall stores seem lower than ideal for this time of year. The Flow super frames are still being prepped but no significant nectar storage is happening up there yet.
Added Super DM supplement today — a powdered protein supplement sprinkled directly onto the frames to boost the colony's nutrition. This helps support brood rearing and overall colony health especially heading into the second half of summer when natural pollen sources can become less abundant.
Also resumed 1:1 sugar water feeding to supplement the colony's stores. Feeding was paused when the Flow super went on but given the lower than expected nectar stores it makes sense to support them now. Will continue feeding until they finish up the 2L feeder before reassessing.
