After eight days the swarmed colony seemed to have settled and was busy enough for us to want to see what was going on. It was obvious that the bees had been drawing the comb from the debris under the hive floor.
Very gently and cautiously, a little smoke and then off with the roof to open up the crown board. The bees were very calm- they had drawn 9 of the eleven frames and were filling them with pollen and stores- some looked polished and then we saw a few eggs. Birgit must be there- and then on the 8th frame in, there she was. Maybe her blue spot wasn't quite so pristine as it had been, she had after all been shaken out of a tree and then a couple of days later brushed into box. Nevertheless it looks as if she has begun to sort out the new colony.
This photograph was taken last year of Birgit in the old hive- she is in the top right, you can just see the blue spot! So we now have two hives that we hope are ready to take us into the summer!!
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