I've read a zillion books (o.k., three) and decided to get bees. I bought Italian bees and plopped them in their hive one week ago. I've waited impatiently all week to take the cover off to see what they've been up to. They apparently like it here. The books all say there might be a bit of burr comb around the queen cage. Uh, nope. There are 6 huge 6-8" diameter half circles layered of comb on top of each other in the empty space next to the frames. It's really pretty, kind of like a flower bud. The Queen's out, too. Somewhere. So, I did the only sensible thing. Plopped the lid back down and bribed an experienced beekeeper with a steak dinner to come and show me how to sort it out. ;*>
Bees Gone Wild
Good start! You'll love having the bees around.
Here's a picture of the burr comb. This is one week!
Read the psycho bees entry, you may need it.
Looks like a nice healthy hive. Best of luck to you.