First hive check of 2020
I got busy, and my hive looked really good from the outside, so although I installed the nuc on 4-28-20, I didn't actually open it up to inspect it until June 8, 2020. When I installed the nuc, it had four frames. I added two empty frames of drawn brood comb. All the rest was completely empty foundationless deep frames. On June 8th, the hive had filled twelve frames completely. The thirteenth was half completed (new comb). They were chaining on the fourteenth, starting to make new comb. I am very pleased with their progress. I did not disturb them. They were very calm. I can work right up near the hive and they do not pay any attention to me. They are obviously getting enough forage. On the very day I inspected this hive, the commercial beekeeper did return around 60 hives of bees to the gravel pit near my property. A week later, I have not seen a big impact on my bees. I have noticed more bees on my property. I have noticed more bees drowned in my swimming pool. The basswood trees are about three to four weeks from bloom, so I do not know if we will get a good flow this year or not. They seem to have a fair amount of bloom set. I will see if the crowds of bees will affect my one hive or not. I feel like it has the best chance in the location where it is, and with the horizontal design to defend its stores. It was well established before the new hives arrived, so hopefully that will help.