Yet another sunny Sunday - perfect weather for an inspection again!
As you can see, the bees have started spreading right across the brood box but there are still two and a half untouched frames on each side (they have filled 7.5 out of 12). I wont let them build upwards until they've spread all the way up to both end frames.
We were in a bit of a hurry today but just had a quick look through to check that all's ok. It's clear that the population has massively increased since last week. It's hard to estimate how many bees there are but it felt noticeably 'busier' than this time last week. You can see some bees about to hatch out here - the wax covering the cells has thinned as the growing bee nibbles its way out.
Our Amidala is clearly a hard-working queen - she's laying eggs in every available space. There are even a load in this piece of brace comb which I had to slice off because it was overhanging. It seems a shame to destroy healthy eggs but leaving them would make the colony less productive in the long run. Besides, they're not entirely wasted - it's good to be able to show them to friends and family! It's not easy to see them unless the light and angle are ideal - they look like minuscule grains of rice, standing on one end.
