It’s what every beekeeper loves to see — fresh eggs in an uncertain hive.
The queen is a-laying.
For newbeeks, the black Ritecell foundation makes it easier to find eggs when hunting around your hive. In this case, the sign of a fertile queen is unmistakable.
mistress beek 
Black foundation’s cheating! 😉
Any idea what the cell size is?
Hi Gord, I know I know! It’s true 😉 We only have a dozen or so frames with black foundation and use ’em here and there in brood boxes. Don’t love plastic foundation but they were a great way to learn as a newbeek.
And I think they’re large cells.
I do have to admit that that’s a great way to help find them if you’re using foundation. Fresh eggs are incredibly difficult to find when starting out. I’ve discovered that finding eggs is like finding the queen: once you do spot them, it’s pretty obvious and not hard to keep finding them again. It was like training my eyes. 🙂
I’m not one of Dee Lusby’s small-cell disciples, but I do wonder about her results. We’ve found an amazing variety of cell sizes in our hives as well.
We have too… This year we’ve experimented with foundation-less frames and found that the girls will invariably (at least in the spring) build drone comb if given the freedom to create. All our foundation-less frames are being filled with drones as we speak.
Yup, ours, too. We’re enjoying an early Spring here, so it’s nice to see the ladies able to get down to work. 🙂
I used black foundation for my first hive this year, and it definitely helped me out.