5th Week Check-in:

[dcwilliams_29id]

Well, I did a inspection today and the hive looked great.  I am working with the DE hives, and the bees seem to like it a lot.  I do have very little burr comb to deal with - only a little around the bottom bars.  My first few frames of new bees have hatched and I could really tell.  There were a LOT more bees in there than I hived with the package.  They have worked there way onto all of the frames in the bottom super, and have really began drawing out the second super nicely.  About 8 or 9 of the 11 frames in the top super have comb being drawn out on them in a oval pattern.  Upon looking closely at about 4 frames that hatched this week, i noticed that there are already eggs in the cells again, and larva in a some.  I also found the queen and she is working away and doing a fantastic job laying eggs.  I would say the colony has proably at least doubled in the number of bees.  There is plenty of pollen stores, and foragers are going in and out by the hundreds.  So far the DE hive has been working out great.  The hive top feeder that they sell has been working very well too.  The way it seals up I have had little problems with ants, or anything.