Hooray, the hives stand!

I awoke this morning with a sense of trepidation, afraid of what I might find. To my delight the hives were untouched! I’m not sure if the bear returned or not. The bacon was all there.

I checked the hives this afternoon and in two I saw the queens! The third had eggs and is 48 hours post bear…so maybe. The fourth hive, which was my strong split and got hit twice, had larva and lots of capped brood. It’s all pre bear so I’m thinking it’s not viable. I will wait to see if they start eating it away to prepare the cells for new brood. I gave them all light syrup and saw pollen in all hives.

I also swapped out a brood box which was damaged by the bear. A total of four frames were lost to the invasion, though I was able to salvage the foundation/comb. They were damaged, but there was still a lot of wax on them that the bees can easily repair. Much easier than starting from scratch.

I have a feeling it will take a while before I can relax about the bear.