A Master Class in Beekeeping - Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper - page 77

William then asked me to look for the queen. This would involve removing many
frames and inspecting them on both sides, and also possibly removing the top deep box
to check the frames below. I had removed the top deep in my own hive, so I was aware
that the deeps could be heavy. A hive in late summer would be filled to the brim with
honeybees, honey, pollen, and brood, making the deeps a challenge to lift. Beekeepers
have to stay in shape to be lugging around such heavy equipment.
One by one, I began removing and inspecting each frame for the queen. This was no
easytask.What abeekeeper really needstofindthequeenisakeeneyeandknowledge
oftheinnerworkingsofthecolony.Italsohelpstobeorderlyduringsuchaninspection.
First, I checked the center frames before moving on to the outer ones. I systematically
moved my eyes across each frame in an organized pattern, without missing a section.
ThenIcheckedforcirclesofattendantbees,whowouldbesurroundingthequeen,most
likely in the center of the frame. Luckily, I spotted the queen without having to remove
the top deep box. She was placing her behind into a beeswax cell, contentedly laying
eggs.Carefully,Ireturnedtheframetothehivesoasnottocrushherbyaccident. Then
I returned the rest of the frames that I had removed, and we closed up that hive and
moved on to the next one.
Each hive had its own distinctive personality. In some the bees were defensive, and
in others they were quite docile. The hives sitting directly in the sun were bursting with
honeybeesfanningtheirwingsattheentrance,workingtokeepthehivecool.Thehives
closest to the flower beds had very little activity, since most bees were out foraging.
When we reached the seventh hive, William pointed out that it had very little activ-
ity at the entrance and scarcely any bees bringing in pollen. And we noticed that some
of the drones at the entrance had deformed wings and could not fly. How utterly sad
this was—helpless bees who could not fly. These details were reasons to take a closer
look. Inside the hive I saw that there were more than a few empty cells among the
cappedworkerbrood.Williamtoldmethatwhenthequeendoesnotlayanegginevery
cell, but leaves large areas open, the result is called a spotty laying pattern . Other cells
looked as if the worker bees had destroyed them.
Then William asked me to do something unusual: he told me to poke open a capped
drone cell with my hive tool and expose the unborn bee. Inside we discovered a white
larva with strange reddish spots. The spotted larva was a sign of the all-too-common
Varroa mites. These minute parasites cling to drone larvae inside their cells, feeding on
their blood. Taking a closer look, we could see that there were also mites visibly cling-
ing to the adult bees inside the hive.
Unfortunately, it was already late summer and this colony's ability to survive the
winter was severely compromised. By the time a colony is found to have disfigured
bees, it is, more than likely, doomed.