Late Bloomer

My second hive, also known as Droogie 2, has been lagging behind Droogie 1. When Ellie and I last inspected the hives, Droogie 2 only had about 6 frames drawn in each of the bottom two boxes. I removed the empty third (top) box and continued to feed them a 1:1 solution of sugar and water, which they've been guzzling.

You can see the two hives in the picture below. Droogie 1 has more bees going in and out, and even though the hives appear to be the same height, Droogie 1 has three boxes of frames while the top box on Droogie 2 is just there to protect the feeder. You can see the wooden inner cover that separates the hive bodies from the feeder.

I refilled the feeder on Monday, and on Wednesday it was empty again. After completing my duty as Sugar Daddy, I couldn't help myself from having a peek under the cover to see what they've been up to.

Wow! They've done some remodeling. It was almost like that show "While You Were Out" where a crew comes in and redecorates your house while you are out golfing with your buddies. Or not.

Almost all of the frames are now drawn out, and there is a lot of brood in the top hive body. They've also socked away a few jar loads of sugar in their comb. I think the population has grown since the last inspection and they appear to be doing much better.

I don't know why they've taken so long to get these boxes filled (its been two months since I installed them), but I'm happy to see that they are expanding and the queen is laying well. I'll bring a super down for them on Tuesday.