Temperatures have been creeping up over the last few days. Yesterday at 4:00pm my backyard thermometer read 100, and at 10:30 this morning as I was getting ready to open the TBH, the thermometer read 90!
As I was preparing the smoker, I noticed a very dark, large bee frantically running around among the weeds. At first I thought it was a drone, but on closer inspection, I determined that it was a virgin queen. She was much larger than a normal worker, with a pronounced thorax, and her abdomen ended in a point. Since, I didn't know what she was up to, I decided not to disturb her.
When I opened the hive, I found the old queen looking quite healthy on the 5th frame and a happily buzzing colony. They've now filled out about 12 frames, mostly with brood. I added a frame on either end to give them something to work with. There was a lot of propolis between the top bars and the hive walls, and the hive gave off the distinct smell of propolis when I opened it. Not much honey in this hive yet, but much of their small stores are mixed in among the brood comb. Odd.
I am baffled by the virgin queen...was she on her way to get mated? Was she returning from a mating flight? Did the bees kick her out because the reigning queen is still in good shape? Did the reigning queen kick her out? So many questions!
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