 | Time in the Yard: 7 hours 21 minutes Avg Time per Colony: 17.6 minutes Total Colonies: 29 Avg Temp: 59.6° Total Precipitation: 0.12” Note: We will return to check queen status on colonies noted as "Queen Not Seen". |
A colony with two queens in the process of supersedure. Look closely for the Queen marked with a blue dot on each of the frames facing the camera. Photo by Eric Malcolm, October 16, 2025.
Actions:
Checked queen acceptance in requeened colonies (2), checked banked queen (1), combined weak colony (1), requeened queenless colony (1), inspected and sampled for Varroa, Nosema, and Viral Project (21), sampled colonies for another research project (7). Checked individual colony weight to get ready to feed.
Observations:
Both new queens were accepted and laying, banked queen was released and killed. Colonies are going through food stores quickly and most will require feeding. Several colonies were noted as Queen Not Seen (QNS) indicating no eggs or queen seen, though the colony was behaving as Queen Right. Queens will often stop laying in the fall as cold weather approaches and nectar becomes scarce.
Reflections:
Made the mistake of laying a banked queen cage down on its side, above an excluder, but forgot to cover the fondant plug - new queen was found released by workers and deceased.
Things in bloom:
Chicory, New England Aster, Groundsel Tree, Panicled Aster, Aromatic Aster, Black-eyed Susan, Gray Goldenrod, Hairy White Oldfield Aster, Common Chrysanthemum, Tatarian Aster, Elegant Zinnia, Yellow Cosmos
Checked queen acceptance in requeened colonies (2), checked banked queen (1), combined weak colony (1), requeened queenless colony (1), inspected and sampled for Varroa, Nosema, and Viral Project (21), sampled colonies for another research project (7). Checked individual colony weight to get ready to feed.
Observations:
Both new queens were accepted and laying, banked queen was released and killed. Colonies are going through food stores quickly and most will require feeding. Several colonies were noted as Queen Not Seen (QNS) indicating no eggs or queen seen, though the colony was behaving as Queen Right. Queens will often stop laying in the fall as cold weather approaches and nectar becomes scarce.
Reflections:
Made the mistake of laying a banked queen cage down on its side, above an excluder, but forgot to cover the fondant plug - new queen was found released by workers and deceased.
Things in bloom:
Chicory, New England Aster, Groundsel Tree, Panicled Aster, Aromatic Aster, Black-eyed Susan, Gray Goldenrod, Hairy White Oldfield Aster, Common Chrysanthemum, Tatarian Aster, Elegant Zinnia, Yellow Cosmos