We took advantage of the warmer weather on Thursday to replenish the feeders ad take a quick look inside the hives. The Girls have been very busy! They have continued to build out and fill the drawn comb we gave them in the new supers last week. Because of the weather we only pulled a three frames from hive 1, but this quick look revealed that the queen is still laying, but at a slower rate than before and that most of the brood that was present when we got the Nucs had hatched out. The foragers in both hives are finding plenty of nectar and pollen and have all but stopped taking in the sugar syrup we have provided. If this remains the case, we will pull the feeders off next inspection.
We have signed up to participate in a scientific experiment on sampling for varroa mite pests in bee colonies being lead by Drs. Wilson and Lamas at Virginia Tech. The study involves comparing a novel method to accepted methods of sampling for varroa mites. It will go the entire 2023 season and will help beekeepers understand what sampling data we collect on varroa mite infestation means and perhaps give us a better tool to measure infestations.
Thank you for the updates!