Flouting all objection to polygamist cults, I’ve got two queens in the Kerry hive.
While to some this might make for “sweet sweet lesbian bee action“, in my case it’s just honey overload and a fat, fat hive.
- In the front, I think the old queen is laying.
- In the back, I’ve got a new queen laying. And how prolific! In an utterly beautiful tight pattern, she’s laying combs of dark bees (Russian? Carnolian? Hopefully not “Africanized”).
Why the harmonious co-existence? Aren’t Apis mellifera queens renowned for their Battles Royale, fighting brutally until only one remains victorious?
Alex, examining the Kerry Hive
Perhaps my hive is undergoing a drawn-out supercedure. Or perhaps they’re waiting to swarm. All I can say for certain is that:
- Queens are piping when I open the hive
- There are two brood nests
- There are new dark bees in the hive
- The girls are producing ungodly amounts of honey
If the unusually cloudy weather in Albuquerque ever clears up, I’ll open the Kerry hive again and sleuth out more details.
mistress beek 
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