A few weeks ago we inspected our split for the first time and were satisfied to see both colonies healthy and active. The original colony didn't seem to have taken a knock from the split. It had 8 frames of brood. The bees that we split off into the second colony was smaller than the original colony, but still going strong. They had 3 frames of brood and a lot of nectar.
During our second inspection over the past weekend, we were delighted to see the smaller colony with an extra frame of brood, sure signs of progress. We added a fifth brood frame for some assistance.
Also, on our previous trip, we noticed some curious bees inspecting one of our catch boxes. We didn't want to open up the box to see if they had moved in yet because if we were to disturb them too much before they settled in, they would likely leave the catch box entirely.
This past weekend we saw much more activity around the catch box and decided to have a look inside. We were so excited to see a very small colony that had already started drawing comb! There were 4 frames that had drawn comb the size of your palm. All were filled with brood (in all their stages) as well as nectar.
See our Instagram page for some visual content.