Nuc Inspection #1 (drum roll please)

So 25 days had passed from when I'd made my first spring splits off of Hive Boris, who was threatening to swarm and in a big way. I'd made two nucs, and was hoping and praying they'd succeed. If they did, I'd have 2 backup queens and/or 2 more hives in my apiary. Since the queen cells were capped, I figured they'd need a minimum of 21 days to hatch and mature into laying queens. It was time to look. The first nuc looked awfully busy when I removed the cover. Here are the four frames minus the in-hive frame feeder I first put in.

As you can see, they certainly didn't need any extra feeding with all of the nectar coming in. Just look at this frame of capped honey! And not just a little bit of honey, a full frame of it! It was the same story on the second side. Seeing this made me realize I'd need to keep a keen eye on my nucs, as the honey flow is in full swing. If the nucs run out of room, just like hives Boris and Natasha they'll start thinking about swarming. All I need to do is keep them busy and keep giving them space and room for the queen to lay.

And (drum roll please) ............ YES, this was what I was looking for! A frame of worker brood, in a beautiful tight pattern. Nuc #1 has a laying queen. She successfully hatched, oriented (I got to witness that), flew off and mated, and made her way back home and is up and running! There are so many obstacles and potential pitfalls in a virgin queen's way that I find it amazing it can succeed. Well, the proof is in the brood frame! Having seen what I came to see, I buttoned up this nuc and moved on to the second, holding my breath just a bit.

Before I left nuc #1, I put in an empty frame for them to draw out, replacing the frame feeder. This way she'll have room to lay and the colony will continue growing.

Okay, onto the second nuc. I only gave this one three frames. It felt like removing 7 frames of brood with the queen cells was the max I should take out of Boris when I did the early spring split to prevent swarming. So far, nuc #2 is lookin' good!

And, YES, nuc #2 has a laying queen. I was ecstatic when I saw this frame of capped brood in a tight pattern, with some new bees hatching out. Since these nucs are small, I didn't waste time looking for the queens. I know they're in there. The proof is in the brood. I removed this nuc's frame feeder and replaced it with an open frame for it to draw out and the colony to continue its expansion. Well, it's official, I now have hives 3 and 4 in my apiary, and I am a BEE BREEDER! I feel like I've arrived.

I cleaned up all the excess burr comb the nucs had made. When I got back in from the apiary, I noticed one piece was pristine white and full of fresh honey. I enjoyed my first taste of T's Bees honey. This bit of Top Shelf White Spring Honey was the bees' knees with floral notes, super sweetness and a soft grape finish. I can hardly wait for the harvest this season! So far so good with these early successes in the apiary.