Day 50: I Fail To Re-Queen

I had every intention of re-queening today. Oh I wasn't going to do the deed myself (regicide is such an ugly thing), but I was paying to have it done. I hired a beessassin. The shame.

Before he arrived I started my weekly hive inspection. Emboldened by Friday's lack of clothes and lack of stings, I wore no protective gear at all when I went into Hives #1 and #2 to check their sugar syrup supply and restock if necessary. Hive #1 was bone dry so I added two quarts of sugar syrup to their feeder. Hive #2 still had a bit so I didn't restock them--I'll look again in two days. Hive #3 needed some syrup... Oh who am I kidding! This all happened yesterday* and a million and two things that I have had to remember and deal with have happened since then. Two or three of the five hives being fed needed syrup, the rest still had an adequate amount. I ended up with one quart of syrup left, and I had made up six quarts. I put two quarts of syrup in each hive I refilled. Do the math.

Then Dan Weaver arrived with the new queen and my moment of truth. We suited up, lit the smokers and headed for Hive #4. First thing Dan did was look at the health of the hive. His impression was a strong healthy hive. He didn't see any of the signs of a hive under stress from varroa. What neither of us saw was an aggressive hive. I thought last week that they were a bit calmer, and this time I really felt that I was seeing the temperament of the queen that came with the nuc. Because all the brood and workers that came with the nuc originally were from another queen, I hoped that the aggressiveness also came from her and that the brood from the new queen would be sweet like my other bees. It now looks like that hope bore fruit.

I love my bees. I have waded into the pond in a dress to save a bee from drowning. Killing a queen who was only a few months old and might not even have been responsible for the crankiness of the workers really went against the grain. So I decided not to do it. I'll continue to monitor for varroa, and if the count worsens, I'll treat all the hives. This isn't the best time to treat as there is both a lot of capped brood and a lot of honey. Most of the treatments aren't appropriate under those conditions.