My First Sting...

...wasn't so bad, and now I know I'm not allergic. I was standing right in front of the hive entrance when the teacher lifted off the bottom brood box. We'd been monkeying with their home for the better part of an hour, so by the time that bottom box came up, the girls were ornery, and I was the closest target.

She got me in my muffin top. Hey, we all know bees love sweets, right?

It felt like a really big mosquito bite. I quickly moved away from the hive lest the "Sting me again!" pheromone reached the rest of the crabby Patties.  She got me through my shirt, so there was no stinger to scratch out. I waved my shirt around for a minute, then went up and stood next to the smoker to mask any lingering scent. Then I went and watched the calmer hive. I figured I'd seen enough of the other.

But, boy did I see a lot! This was a hive that had overwintered successfully and was really going strong already. We saw capped brood, drone comb, and even some supercedure (new queen) cells. If the intermediate class didn't split that hive this afternoon, they were for sure going to swarm.

For the most part, the girls were calm, save the one brave guard bee who gave her life to sting my soft underbelly. I got some great shots.  Notice in one of them, all the bees in flight. You can see their little landing gears... very cute!

Not too much happening in this frame

Lots of capped brood and a few drone cells 

Nice capped brood

They built burr comb on top of the frames that got damaged when we pulled off the box

Notice all the little bee landing gears (legs) dangling beneath them

Busy gals working on the burr comb

The countdown is winding down now, with my girls getting here in less than a week. I'm more than a little nervous for them. I hope I can give them the right kind of home, the right amount of food, and give them a chance to get themselves through the winter.

In the meantime, I'm going to admire the tiny red spot that is my sting and be very thankful I'm not allergic.