A chance to check the hives

Temperatures climbed to 70 degrees today allowing me to check the emergency food stores in my three hives.  The bees were actively flying in all three hives.  This is the bottom entrance of the North hive showing lots of bees milling about the front.

A close shot shows the bees gathering on the front and coming in and out of the holes in the mouse guard.

Here a bee is caught on the wing returning to the hive.

I pulled off the quilt box on each hive to check the sugar stores.  The North hive had eaten through the sugar and eaten out quite a bit from the bottom causing a thin layer of the top of the sugar block to collapse onto the bottom of the sugar box.

A closer look shows how the sugar is eaten out from underneath.  I would estimate that the bees had eaten about 50% of the sugar in the box on the North hive.

The Middle hive was the most active of the three.  Here bees are in the air and crowding the bottom entrance.

Here bees return to the hive while others mill about the front.

An even closer shot shows numerous bees on the wing.  None of the bees, of course, have pollen on their legs as we are likely a month from the first maple pollen being available.

The sugar box on the Middle hive was more empty than the North hive, confirming my impression that this hive is the strongest of the three.

A closer shot shows how the sugar is being eaten from the bottom.  I suspect that 75% to 80% of the sugar has been consumed here.  I may need to add some sugar late in the Spring at this rate of consumption.

The South hive is noticeably weaker than the other two but still has several bees flying in warm weather.  I am concerned about the survival of this hive but optimistic as there are still quite a few bees there well past the mid-point of winter.

Some bees in flight and bees on the entrance of the South hive.

The sugar box on the South hive has been well eaten through and bees were working it and visible below.

Here bees are busily working on the sugar block.  They may have eaten 20% to 25% of the sugar in this box -- not nearly as much as the other hives but still a substantial amount of activity.  We still have several weeks of winter before the pollen and nectar flow starts and until I can get into the hive to see if it is queen right.  Still, I think there are enough bees to survive -- I hope so.