It has been two weeks since I first hived the new package of bees and a little over a week since Ramona was released from her cage. The girls have been busy drawing out wax even in areas like the hive feeder.
Once I got into the hive, I was a bit nervous on how Ramona was doing. A good chunk of the comb is filled with the syrup and they are starting to cap a lot of it off. I really don’t want the hive to be honey bound and not have anywhere for Ramona to lay. I did see one or two frames with eggs, larvae, and capped brood so maybe she is just starting to hit her stride.
I did see a few cells with 2 eggs in them which usually indicates a laying worker if you find them in large quantities. I only saw a handful so I’m hopeful this is normal for a new queen. We did see Ramona so we confirmed she was still there.
The thing that has me the most worried is a possible supersedure cell in the picture below. It was covered in bees, in the middle of the frame, and was hard to see clearly. I have a shot below if any one wants to weigh in with an opinion.
I know Ramona is alive and is starting to lay, but the bees know better than I if she is up to the task. We’ll see what it looks like next week, but who knows, Queen Ramona II may be just around the corner.
Finally, as the girls have pretty much filled out 7 of the eight frames, we added the 2nd Evil Ex Super to the hive.
Urban Beekeeping in Austin, Texas 