Checking on (and Naming) the New Hives

On Saturday, Wren and I took a quick look inside the two new hives to make sure the queens had been released from their cages and that all was well in bee-ville.
In both cases, the queen had been released. Above, you see the cages with a couple of dead attendant bees.

Both colonies had built an impressive amount of comb in the week since we'd hived the packages. Interestingly, the bees in both hives were building along just one side of each of the top bars, rather than across the whole top bar.They seem to be using the vertical guide (intended to reinforce the combs so they don't break) as a brace for the comb. I hope that as time goes on, they'll start working the other sides too. But who knows with bees? In any case, they're just getting started—all will bee revealed in time.
By the way, thanks to all who suggested names for the two colonies in keeping with the David Bowie theme. Wren has decided to name the colony she hived last weekend SERIOUS MOONLIGHT, a phrase from the David Bowie song, Let's Dance. I've been debating about SUFRAGETTE CITY, but have decided on MOSS GARDEN—a favorite of mine from "Heroes". I like the calming influence of the phrase Moss Garden, and I hope the bees will too.

We need to get into Hive Orange (our surviving hive from last year), but the weather has been uncooperative. With luck, we'll get a look next week.