Why won't they build?

Tuesday evening my dad and I paid a visit to the hive to check on the progress of our beloved Russian queen and her loyal workers.

The good news - the hive was lively, the bees seemed happy, and there is still a decent amount of brood, indicating that the queen is laying eggs and the hive is growing.

However, the bad news is that while the population of the hive may be (slowly) growing, the bees have not been building out the comb in the second hive body (layer).

This is worrisome because I have my doubts that the hive can survive the winter without more comb, bees and honey.

They still have the entire months of September and October to build out the comb and start saving up honey for the winter months, but they are really going to need to pick up the pace!

Enjoy the photos of the queen, a worker with very full pollen baskets (we are guessing rhodedendron?), and my beekeeping partner in crime, my dad.