I inspected my 2 hives today. I feel a little disappointed. I guess I was expecting more progress and now I'm worried. It doesn't help that I just watched "The Silence of the Bees" on PBS about disappearing honey bees (Colony Collapse Disorder). I'm trying to do my small (very small) part to help save the bees, but I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. As if the future of honey bees rests on my shoulders!
A recap: Both colonies were started from packages installed on April 20. One of the hives got started late due to a failed queen which I replaced in mid-May. The other hive made tremendous progress but seems to be slowing down considerably if you measure in terms of capped frames.
Hive A: Italians: 2 medium boxes: top box is partially drawn out and I see eggs but not many bees and not very much activity presumably because of the late start with the queen troubles and progressive die-off of older bees.
Hive B: Russians: 3 medium boxes: bottom 2 boxes are completely drawn out and capped and top hive box is partially drawn out but with little nectar or pollen. A lot of bees but they don't seem to be making much progress on that 3rd box.
Are these hives doing well? Is this normal? Are we in a nectar/pollen dearth? Should I be feeding? Should I combine the hives? I have no idea. I'm an amateur. A novice. A beginner. A newbee.
And that's why I rely on information from the International Beekeeping Forum. The people are polite, helpful, and respond quickly. I've posted my concerns to the forum. I'm sure the masters will have good advice and reassure me!
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