This was the inspection I had been waiting for since day one — we finally spotted the queen! She was on Frame 4, center right, surrounded by her retinue of attendant bees all facing toward her. That longer abdomen, calm and purposeful movement — unmistakable once you know what you're looking for. I genuinely teared up!
Since temperatures had been consistently above 50°F at night and above 60°F during the day, we decided to rotate frames 2 and 6 to the center to give the queen more warm laying space in the core of the brood nest. This should help her expand significantly over the coming week.
Those supercedure cups from May 19th? Completely gone by today. The colony corrected itself once we stopped overfeeding and gave the queen room to breathe. Such a relief!
The brood pattern is beautiful — solid, consistent, healthy. All 7 frames covered in bees. My husband and I both agreed this colony is thriving and the second box is coming very soon. 🍯
