Water Lily

The bee colony that was dying of starvation on Saturday now has some small larvae being carefully tended by the nurse bees, which means that the queen actually started laying again on Sunday and, had I looked while checking them out then, I would probably have noticed the first eggs. They are on daily supplementary feeds now, as are all the other colonies. Having decided that all my problems this year are probably due to an unusual lack of nectar for whatever reason, I am wondering if the two colonies that appear to be queenless will suddenly spring back into life. Even if they don’t, I have plans for them.
 
Typically, while the weather was fine when I arrived at the apiary, by the time I had dealt with the passers-by who were interested in the bees there was a steady drizzle; but, at least it was warm drizzle. The wet water lily in the Blip is in the pond at the centre of the Lost Garden and has probably been there since the place was vacated over 50 years ago. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a splendid flower on it, they’re usually quite badly damaged by insects and fungi.