New Sheriff in Town

Notes: Bees have drunk 1/8 quart sugar water.

The frames haven't changed much since last week. Here's what they looked like today:

1. Uncapped honey on one side; 2/3 full of capped honey on the other side.
2. 3/4 full of capped honey, 1/4 open brood; 1/2 full of honey, 1/2 brood
3. Brood
4. Brood
5. Brood
6. pollen, which looked like it was soaked with honey, honey.

The wax in frames 5 and 6, which are mostly brood, is very dark in color and seems to be always capped. Sometimes I see a couple of uncapped brood or small sections with larva, but I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with the brood, and how long it has actually been capped. I will start keeping a closer eye on this.

The bees were a little feisty today; I used smoke generously for both our peace of mind, but a couple of the bees attacked my hive tool and flew kamikaze-style into my veil. One even got caught INside of my veil. I think it's time to trade in my home-made veil for a real one. Not sure why the feistiness; perhaps they are getting a little defensive with the change in weather. It was about 65F when I did the inspection today, much cooler than normal.

I've stopped worrying about the yeasty smell. It has lessened, and I'm starting to think that that is just the way my bees smell. They seem fine otherwise.

Not sure if there is a new sheriff in town or if the bees were under attack today. There were a couple of guard bees at the hive entrance who were closely inspecting and even shoving away some of the incoming bees.