Lots of activity outside of the hives now.....I think the girls like their new home!

We put a couple piece of grass at the entrances so they would reorient to their new location on their way out....

It didn't take long before they were off and foraging for nearby nectar.....

In the spring, the honey flow is just starting, so the bees need a little extra help getting their wax glands going - so we feed them a 1 to 1 mixture of C&H Pure Cane sugar and water syrup.

Smoke makes the bees think there is a forest fire...they go down inside the hive and gorge on honey stores in preparation for the possibility of leaving there home.

Hive #1 had one mite....not too bad for a colony my size. I will need to keep an eye on things as the season progresses. Varroa Mites sneak into brood cells before they are capped and then latch onto the pupa to feed. The mite then begins laying her eggs. Mites transmit viruses that will stunt or eventually kill the emerging new bee.

Hive #1 is not as strong as hive#2 - these bees aren't drawing out the comb as quickly as their neighbors. I fed them more sugar water to stimulate increased brood production - will see if that helps!

I found some normal debris at the bottom of hive#2 and could tell that the brood is centered nicely in the middle.

Hive #2 is flourishing! There is even some Drone brood in the frame. You can tell it is drone brood by the puffy-risen shape of the cappings.

Honey Bees literally work themselves to death, this old gal (at around six weeks of age), has flown her last foraging mission and completed her contribution to the colony, soon she will be swept away by the "cleaning bees". Such is the cycle of life.