Two months when I was suffering from queenlessness in my only hive, I
requeened, and now have some observations and questions.
 
A good consistent brood pattern, indicating the queen is laying suggest the
hive is heathly.
 
More drone cells than I had previously observed-- perhaps several dozen
together near the bottom of each of the half dozen frames I examined
yesterday.  Is this normal, or is a problem?
 
I have two deep brood boxes, and one new shallow super.  The bees have not
drawn out any foundation in the super.  I removed the queen excluder in
early June.
 
When I work the bees, they  are a little more "hyper" than before.  I
attribute this to the new queen's genetic contribution.  Am I right?   My
original queen was a carolian from Weavers, I now have an Italian from
Hardemans.
 
In June, the top brood box was heavy with honey.  It is lighter now.   Do I
need to feed the bees this fall and winter?
 
I live in a heavily treed suburban section of Arlington, VA, with lots of
tulip poplar trees and normal suburban vegetation.  I noticed this May/June
that the Tulip Poplar flowering was less prolific than in prior years.  What
causes this?
 
How do I convince my bees to get on with it and starting building out some
foundation in the top super?
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Blair Reischer
Market Technology Associates
[log in to unmask]   voice:  703/241-7857
4841 N. 30th St., Arlington, VA  22207
WWW:  http://cpcug.org/user/reischer
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