No Bees? (The Plot Thickens by Rejection)

So, I have been dumped...rejected...by my honey bees. After 8 full days after setting up shop in The Farm hive, my bees have flown. And let me tell you how it went down:

I set up my little house of honey facing South by South East on the edge of our Black Walnut grove overlooking our Alfalfa hay fields. The babbling of the creek that crosses our property was just a straight shot and in line with the honey bees range; it was a perfect spot. The weather had unseasonably changed to cooler temps hovering around 60 degrees, and it seemed to rain almost every day. But, I managed to get my package of Italian bees in their hive without a hitch during a break in the weather...and was pretty confident with my first time out. I fed the little babies, and tucked them in their darkness; leaving them to work on freeing their Queen from her cage and building honeycomb.

photo credit: Dadant & Sons Inc.

More cooler dips in temperature with rainy days, left me worrying about the bees. But, I knew that it would take about 4 days for the bees to release the Queen from her 3 cell cage (including eliminating the dead attendant bees trapped with her) so, I waited, not wanting to disturb their process. Finally, it was time to go in for an inspection...

Upon pulling up to The Farm, we saw that the first cutting of hay was down and raked...awesome. Cutting hay, like installing bees, is completely dependent on dry weather. Walking the path through the Walnuts, I noticed that some wild black raspberries sprung up along the old wire cow fence...awesome. The birds must have helped with that last year, and those berries will add to my jam supply. Then with my smoker in one hand, and my hive tool in another, I approached my hive and saw: zero activity at the door. Not good. Holding my breath, I removed the outer cover, a few bees were hanging out on the inner cover, so I removed that one carefully. Then just between the two frames, where the Queen cage hung, there was a cluster of bees. A few other bees were walking around on the outside frames, but the majority of the hive was gone. Raising the Queen cage out from between the frames that it had been resting on; bees clung to it like a lifeline..the Queen's scent was all over it. I half expected to find a dead Queen inside but, it was completely the opposite. The Queen had indeed been released, and the entire cage was scrubbed clean by the nurse bees. On the two frames that bordered the Queen cage was fully drawn out clean honeycomb. Puzzled, I searched for a Queen, but knew the outcome already. Feeling sorry for the bees left behind, I topped off the feeder with sugar water, and closed up the hive.

Looking out towards the mowed path of hay, that started to crossed out 20 feet in front of me, I wondered if the machinery was the reason. Or, the new "smell" of the hive, or even the call of the wild from the 'back forty' trees in conservatory? I was keenly aware that I was overdressed, and unzipped my veil, when my mind kicked into action: 'What to do now?'