Second Inspection

(Almost three weeks from installation)

We were gone all day long and did not return until 5:30 pm. Unfortunately, the storm clouds had moved in and it was just beginning to sprinkle. But I needed to get into the hive today - tomorrow is our day of rest - I did not want to wait until Monday. By the time the rain had paused it was 6:30 pm and 70 degrees.

I opened the hive and found the syrup only half empty. I pulled it out to scrape up the bottom of the hive. Most of the sugar syrup mess I found just three days ago had dried out once the entrance was opened all the way. I took a picture from the inside of the back of the hive before I began my inspection of the bars. It looks great to us beginners. 

Front of bar #2 (below) 

Back of bar #2 (below) 

Front of bar #3 (below)

Front of bar #5 (below)

Bar #5 is where I pulled the queen cage out from the front of the comb. It looks pretty straight in this photo. There are a few miss shaped cells in the area, but no cross combing.

Looking over the comb we concluded that we were seeing too much capped drone. I looked for the queen on the first bars, but then forgot on the others. Some of the comb (like #5) look like a good pattern, but I had this awful feeling that we have laying workers. My handsome husband was so brave this time around: he got up close to take pictures and videos, and smoked the bees as needed while I worked them; and surprisingly neither of us got stung. When comparing this last comb to the inside photo, it appears the bees have built comb through to bar #8.