After we dealt with the morning swarm, we took some time to check the frames in all the hives. Hiroshi found a queen cell and carefully cut it from the frame with his pen knife. As an expert beekeeper, I assumed he knew the new queen was ready to meet the world. As we like to say, A Queen is Born!
Hiroshi slowly and carefully pulled back the encasing around the queen, and just like that, she emerges out into the sun. So cool!! A Queen is Born!
Truly a magical and unique experience!
This was such an awesome and unexpected day!! We learned why bees swarm and how to deal with them and witnessed the birth of a queen! Indeed, A Queen is Born! We can’t wait to find out what adventures in beekeeping are in store for us next!
Beekeeping Note:
The new virgin queen will emit weak hormones at first. It may take the other bees a while before they will recognize her as queen. And as learned during our swarm lesson, if another queen already rules the hive, she may leave and another swarm may be encountered. As any additional queens are born, this cycle may continue.
