All hail the new queen

Temperature: 13C
Weather: Windy, cloudy and wet
Stings: None (though one bee tried really hard)

It looks like the grand unification has worked. I could only have a quick look yesterday thanks to imminent showers but I now have one hive of bees working together. I didn't have time to look for the new queen and re-assure myself that she is laying but the bees seemed pretty happy so I'd guess that she is doing a good job.

I tidied up the hive, put on a clearer board to start cramming them into fewer brood boxes. This weekend I'll put on an eke and treat them for varroa. I might take the chance to get all the frames with lots of stores on in one box too so they are well set up for next year. I also should have some spare frames that I can use early next year instead of sugar syrup to give them a good start.