I was planning to do a hive inspection today, but wanted to finish working on the electric fence first. I just needed to figure out a good way to setup an easy gate system for the fence, and was walking back and forth between the apiary and the camper where all my tools are. Anyways, one time I returned to the hive to see all kinds of activity. Lots of bees were flying around the hive and a beard was forming at the bottom of the front entrance.

I then found the queen, in a huddle of a few dozen workers, about ten or so feet from the hive. I quickly setup a second hive on some shipping pallets right next to my partially built second hive stand, scooped her up, and put her in. I had [starting from the bottom] a bottom board, queen excluder, deep super, queen excluder, and deep super. My hope was to trap her in there and get the bearding bees to smell her and join her in the new hive. I did not open the existing hive but I have to guess that the things I thought were queen cells were in fact queen cells and that they planned to swarm anyways. Click for full size image.

I was thinking that as soon as all the activity dies down maybe I'll take a frame of brood and a frame of resources from the original hive and give it to the new hive. If this works I may end up with two hives. If it doesn't I may end up with nothing.