Just something I thought I'd share. This is me, working one of the beehives at NC State. The oldest bees in the hive are about five weeks old, so they're pretty close to the end of their spring/summer lifespan, but there's tons of brood and a lot of young bees now. Our Queen's name is Desiree, and we think she's about half a year old, so she should be good for another two or three years, depending on how much sperm she has stored.

We've only seen a few drones in the hive. Lazy buggers. We don't really need them as beekeepers, since most domestic queens are inseminated artificially, but they have their place, I suppose.

No varroa mites yet, but they'll probably show up in the fall. We do have a few hive beetles, but not enough to be a problem. And so far none of the hives are showing any signs of AFB or EFB, which is fantastic. We're in the middle of the honey flow now, too, so they're starting to pack away nectar. In a few months, we might be ready to start harvesting a little honey, depending on the yield.