Sunday
Hive #1
This hive is really getting a bad start this year. The queen I introduced to them is laying, but very slowly. Also, the bees that are in there have gotten older too, so many of them have died off. The eggs she's laid are about to hatch any day, so hopefully that will help the hive out. But it's almost like starting a hive after buying 2-3 pounds of bees. Their only boost is that they do have several frames of comb rather than all fresh frames. It's a big contrast from hive #2. I'm thinking about placing some brood from hive #2 in there to help them out. I'm worried about my ability to do this. I also marked all the frames on the top box with arrows, pointing towards the center so they are sure to be always replaced in the Housel positioning.
Hive #2
Quite strong. I don't think it's near swarming, but it is very full. I had taken out 6 frames from the top, and 3 from the bottom to steal some honey and give them fresh frames to work with. If I had an extractor they wouldn't have to work so hard to fill the frames back up. But I don't, so they'll have to start all over on clean frames. With the advice I'd gotten, I moved the honey/brood frames to the outside. Then marked the clean frames with arrows to keep them in the Housel position, and placed them in the middle. They're a good hard working hive and will have things in order in no time. Over time I'll get all the frames marked with arrows pointing to the middle so I'm sure to keep all in the right direction.
Beth