supersedure. that's what all those queen cups were about. it's official now, as i found two full supersedure cells (queen cups) during my last inspection::
a flash will help you see what's really going on::
that's the queen larvae floating in a pool of royal jelly. isn't it beautiful? maybe its just me. supersedure is, basically, the replacement of a queen. all bee "babies" are fed royal jelly for a time but the girls will feed these larvae royal jelly exclusively, which produces a queen rather than a regular worker bee. it seems our queen may still be alive as well, which is not uncommon. luckily i've been advised to just keep a watch for now. i'm not sure i would be able to go in and destroy these gorgeous little cups. i've given them some additional room by adding the second deep and will continue feeding. never a dull moment in the hive!
