When Greg and Suzette checked one of the re-queened hives, Philip and I took a good look at the Simcoe hives and they’re working away nicely.

Generally, the first thing we do when we arrive at a yard is to walk about and assess the exterior activity at the hives. Comings and goings can tell you a lot about the health of a colony: lots of flying is excellent, bees clustering on the outside could signal swarm preparations, etc. Besides, it’s fascinating to watch the bees working. Yesterday, hive four seemed to be right the middle of a bee superhighway. They ladies were flying in and out of the four hives so quickly that it was like standing in the middle of Highway 401 at peak traffic. Amazing. Even flying into a stiff headwind.

I took a short video clip of entrance of hive 3. If you look closely, you can see at least three different types of pollen bring brought in by the foragers in their pollen baskets. I have no idea what the creamy white pollen is, but I’m going to try to find out.