The sun is out for the second day running and bees are busy, there are some flowers out there so will be food to find, but better to get them a quick feed of sugar syrup.
It's been to say the least another strange winter, very mild but wet, two things that can really mess up a bee colony, having lost my colonies the last two winters I was a bit nervous as to what I would find, allow though on the plus side we have had no cold snaps with snow, famous last words, plenty of time yet!
It's been ages since I have written a blog so thought should record the event by taking a time lapse video with my new app on I Phone.
What I want to know is it only me that is having strange experiences with their bees? Having left a super on of stores for them over the winter with no queen excluder in I was worried that the queen might have started laying in the super, but fears allayed super was almost empty of stores and no sign of queen activity, although they had started to create new honey stores up there. I bit of a risk but decided I will put queen excluder in when closing up hive, risk is that colony move up and leave the queen behind to get caught in a cold spell.
Once into the brood box was time to make sure I found the queen so I don't unknowingly leave the queen up in the super! Signs were looking good worker brood present, so she is laying, stores a bit on the light side so a feed definitely necessary, (mental note must pop to Waitrose for more castor sugar, only the best for my bees, or is it because I am lazy and Waitrose almost next door? Roll on Liddle being built nearby, ok mind is wandering!).
And then I found her, phew always a relief, and then SHOCK HORROR! I found another queen, why me? A quick double check and yes I have two queens, on frames next to each other, so are they both laying? Why hasn't one killed the other? This means they have lived all winter together side by side in harmony, queens just don't do that.
So now the conundrum what do I do? It's early March and we are far from clear of the cold weather, will one of them swarm and wreck another season on honey production? Should I split them and create a new colony, are they both laying? Why is life so complicated!
Hey ho at least it's interesting!
