package inspections

I checked on the hive at Brent's place today as well as the queen breeder in the back yard.
I've been meaning to get to them for the last 4 or 5 days but haven't had a chance.
The packages were installed 8 days ago.

Brent's hive first.
This one had 2 boxes on the bottom with natural drawn out comb in the top box, extending down into the bottom box. I had hooked the queen cage onto the bottom of one of the combs. It held the queen cage ok. I didn't think about it being able to hold 3 lbs of bees clustered around the queen cage. It had broken the comb and was laying on the bottom of the hive. There was a cluster of bees on it (size of a baseball).
The queen was still in the cage. They had almost eaten through the candy plug but not quite. I released her into the hive.
I then put a box of foundation (some drawn out) above the 2 brood boxes, then queen excluder, then 3 deep boxes with wax coated plastic foundation, the inner cover and the telescoping lid with an opening at the front. This all sits on a screened bottom board. The idea is to manage this hive after the manner of Oscar Perone. The bottom 2 boxes are brood nest and are never touched. The next box is stores for the bees and is also never touched. The three upper boxes can be harvested in the fall and put back on empty. The hive stays 6 boxes tall year round. Not sure how that will work, but I'm gonna find out.
I left the queen excluder on the entrance as she was just released. I'll remove it in a few days.
The bees had filled quite a bit of the comb with nectar and I could see them bringing in pollen also.
Several drones were under the screened bottom board trying to get to the queen.

Queen breeder.
Crooked comb in both sides. worse on the right.
5 bars attached together on the left - 7 on the right.
I was able to cut a bit of it back and put in dividers. Hoping that they'll start straight on the other side of the divider. I was tempted to tear the whole thing out and have them start over. I still might. I won't be able to move brood combs into the queen chamber if they are all stuck together.

3 hives with the laser engraved comb guides. All three with crooked comb. I wonder if I had made the engraved hexagon shapes 5.1 mm instead of 4.9 if it would have made a difference. I may get more engraved and try it.

Pollen can be seen on this rock below the entrance holes. The queen excluder that I've placed there is knocking the pollen off of the bees as they climb through. I will remove the queen excluder (includer in this case) as soon as I see that she is laying eggs.

I had heard from a friend in Wellington that hived bees the same day and his were building crooked also. He had put in wax coated wooden comb guides 1/2 inch deep. Hmmm.