- Check to see if I need to add a 2nd deep super on the Russian hive (the Russian queen is alive and well).
- See if my prayers to the bee gods to "Reveal my Italian queen or show some sign of her existence and health" have been answered.
The Russians are still one full frame away from needing a 2nd deep super, and the Italian queen was hiding her self today, if she is there at all. And there were no eggs, again.
Today I find myself humbled by the uncertainty of what is happening in the Italian hive. I speculate that there is not enough comb in the Italian hive for the queen to lay eggs, since the colony is building it at a slow pace. Once there is more comb, there should be eggs again. In lieu of finding the queen, which is 1 bee out of 10,000 bees at this time, a beekeeper may instead observe the presence of eggs. The presence of eggs means that as recently as a few days ago, the queen was present.
Today I looked for the queen, and eggs, diligently. I spent way too much time in the hive, but I wanted to be certain that I had given my best effort. It was a frustrating experience, and by the time I worked my way through all the frames twice, the bees were sensing my frustration.
I have noticed that as I work the bees, they mirror my emotions. Today as I became frustrated (showing no perceptible outward sign of that emotion), the bees buzzed very loudly. When I took a deep breath and became calm, they quieted down. I found it amazing that these creatures, who monitor the queen's presence and health through an endless chemical interpretation of what she excretes from glands on her body, should also be capable of reading my emotions as they occur. It may likely be through the pheromones, hormones, and other chemical singals that my body gives as I traverse a spectrum of emotion. Or perhaps it is my imagination.
Ken Kesey once noted that the most essential roll of our truest friends is to be an accurate and clear mirror for us, so that we may see ourselves as we are, and be better equipped to improve our selves because of it. My little friends are great mirrors for me. I am simply glad that they were compassionate today, and did not sting. I wonder if they can intuit the good will I feel toward them, and somehow understand the role I have assumed as their caregiver.
I worked the hive in a short sleeved shirt today, and given my emotional range today, and their accurate reflection of it, it was gracious of them to show compassion, and not sting me. What they should have done is dragged their queen to center stage....lol. I would have appreciated that.
So, I am going to leave the hive alone for a week, and hope that the bees build out enough comb for the Italian queen to start laying eggs again. This way, even if I cannot find her next Thursday, I will be able to confirm that she is alive and well. If not, I will order a new queen, and begin the process of introducing her. At least by then, there will be a lot of space in the brood comb to lay.
And the Russians, well, 1 week will be enough time for them to finish building out the requisite 6-7 frames of comb in the lower deep. Then they get room for expansion.
This week, I will continue work on my real estate blog, which is a bit more technical and jargonistic than this, and pray that the gods of honey will send word that my queen is indeed alive and well.
