Stingless bees have started storing food in the eduction hive...

Twenty nine days into the eduction process, the bees have started storing food in the eduction hive. The bees have also sealed a great portion of the new hive box.  So, far I have not seen a queen.  I believe she will come later when the new hive is completely furnished.  Apis cerana, during the process of swarming, will leave the old hive without any idea where they will find a new home. Stingless bees on the other hand will look first for a new site and prepare it before their new queen moves in.

I also monitor the traffic going in and out of the eduction tube.  There will come a time when the main hive will cut off the connection to the eduction hive.  This is probably when a new queen starts laying eggs in the eduction hive, or when the main hive feels threatened. In such cases I will remove the tape covering the hole so the bees from the main hive will be able to forage outside.

Eduction method in progress...

What happened to the honey store?!?

I checked one of the hive yesterday and noticed the wax combs seem quite dry... the capped honey cells were missing and the nectar cells also disappeared.  The dish feeder was also dry...  Could it be that the bees have used up the little stored honey they had? That the honey flow is really over and supply can not keep with the bees demand? Rainy season is almost here.  What will my bees eat?  I got worried that my bees will abscond if they will not find any forage so, I returned this morning... and fed them sugar-water... sad... The queen cups I saw last time were still empty probably because of shortage of food.  I do not think they will push through with the reproductive swarm though.  So, I have to accept it, I am not going to get any harvest this summer.  Well, as long as my colonies will get stronger, I guess it is OK.

The bees were quite agitated again.  While inspecting the second hive, a bee decided to stick her sting through my thin jacket and got me in the arm.  I closed the hive and retreated back to the house but the bees were relentless and pursued me.  I moved in and out of the house to lure the bees out. When I thought I drove all the bees out, I removed my veil, but to my surprise, one bee managed to stay put inside.  It went berserk the moment I removed my veil.  I tried to flail my veil around hoping to drive the bee away but I think it only made her more angry.  It made a kamikaze attack directly at my face, which I failed to dodge. It got me near my left eye.  It was very close.  After that, I decided not to take any more photos and just finish putting sugar water in each hive as fast as I can so I can go home immediately before my left eye swell shut.  So far, not much swelling is happening and I hope it stay that way.  But based on my previous stings, the swelling really starts after a few days.

Anyway, I think the bees will be OK for now.  I don't think they will abscond.  I hope the feed will encourage them to stay put, forget about swarming, and start building brood combs on the lower chamber.  However, I still can not say that there are no food in the area.  As I observed each hive activity this morning, lots of bees were hauling loads of pollen.  The traffic was a steady stream.  I will check again in a week to see if they have started storing honey again.

I also found a few dead bees inside one of the chicken feeder I placed outside.  Which means, the bees were able to find the feeder.  I really do not like putting feeder inside the hive as it attracts hordes of ants.

Row of young larvae (center) surrounded by capped brood cells...