Quick check yesterday

I looked into the hives yesterday, but only the top one or 2 boxes.

In the first split I found the queen and saw frames for capped brood, eggs and larvae. I have kind of a checkerboard pattern of foundation and drawn comb so there is still room in the hive to expand. There are 3 boxes for the colony, but I'm going to feed this hive until it is more filled out.

In the second split I did not see the queen, but I did find frames of capped brood, eggs and larvae also. It also has not filled its space so I'm feeding it as well. I had let the feeding lapse for a couple of weeks in the hopes that these would grow on their own, but the weather has been so dry I think the dearth slowed them down.

I looked into the main hive, but only the top 2 boxes. The top box is a honey super that I am hoping they will fill, but so far that has not happened. I moved one frame of foundation down and a frame of honey up into the super when I looked into the next box down (3rd from the bottom). That box has frames of brood, eggs and larvae also so the queen is in there somewhere. I did not see any queen cells, just one empty queen cup on the bottom so I think the hive is doing OK. I need to do a more thorough inspection and maybe make a nuc for overwintering. I should set up a schedule for inspections and making of nucs for the fall so I don't get behind and get caught by the weather. I did catch a drone and practiced painting a spot on its back. It was easy, and the drone flew off after, but I need to do more than one to gain some confidence.