The first month after installing a package or nucleus colony is the most fragile stretch in a new beekeeper's year. This 3D cutaway hive lets you scrub through Day 1 to Day 30 and watch four things beginners are told to track happen at once: the queen's release from her cage, the colony drawing out new wax comb, the feeder's sugar-syrup level dropping and being topped up, and the colony's population quietly dipping before rebounding as new brood emerges.
Many first-time beekeepers panic when they see the colony's population look smaller around the two-to-three-week mark — but a temporary dip before the first new bees emerge around Day 21 is a normal, expected part of establishing a package colony, not a sign of a failing hive.
A 3D cutaway hive plays through Day 1 to Day 30 after installing a new colony, showing the queen's release, comb build-out, feeder syrup cycles and the population dip-and-rebound as new brood emerges.
Comb is drawn from the top of each frame down over the month; the queen leaves her candy-plugged cage around Day 4; the population dips as older bees die off before Day 21, then climbs as the first brood cycle emerges; and the feeder syrup is topped up roughly weekly.
Drag the Day slider from 1 to 30, or press Play for an automatic time-lapse. Switch view mode to spotlight comb, population, or feeder, and toggle the cutaway wall to look inside the brood box. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom.
A shrinking-looking colony around week three is one of the most common false alarms for new beekeepers — it's simply the gap between the original bees dying off and the first new bees emerging roughly 21 days after the queen begins laying.