Vaughn and I checked the hives today about about 1315. Each hive had eaten through the mini-marshmallow to free the queen. The queen cages were each full of workers, as it probably still smelled strongly of the queen. To avoid confusion in the hive, I got all of the bees out of the queen cage and put it in my pocket. Now, the only queen smell coming from the inside of the hive should be from the actual queen.
We didn't use our smokers, so we tried to not spend much time in the hives. I did not search for or see either queen. They still had plenty of syrup left in their feeder pails, but I'll probably mix up another gallon of syrup today to have in reserve.
The hive entrances were busy on both hives.
The plan is to leave them alone for a week or two. Then, I'll use the smoker to give each hive an inspection. I'll hope to see the queen. If not, I'll be happy to see some eggs, larvae, and/or capped brood.
I may also get ready to add a second, deep hive body to each.
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