15/06/2017 - Mid-June Inspection

A cool to warm morning. Langstroth Hive 1 - Congested with bees. Hive observed to have undergone swarming on at least two occasions. Each time though had been observed to return to the hives after a few minutes of attempted swarming. A phenomenon not observed before. The answer I think was resolved during this inspection. No queen observed except two or three sealed queen cells. Unsealed queen cells destroyed. Sealed queen cells left in situ. Langstroth Hive 3 - Old queen (marked) observed on inspection. So when splitting Hive 1 last week must have resulted in moving an old queen instead of brood frame with a queen cell. Swarming puzzle solved! National Hive 4 - Steady increase in bee population. Bees storing nectar in super. National Hive 5 - Frame put in situ last week containing queen cells and brood seems still to have unmatched queen cells. Sugar syrup still enough. National Hive 6 - No sign of Queen. No fresh eggs. Could the Hive have swarmed? No queen cells. Worried about this Hive. Next week will be critical.