The Pond and early swarming

The pond is excavated, lined and filled. We just beat the hosepipe ban (4th April) and now we need plants! The good thing about aquatic plants is that they're beautiful to look at, they're easy to cultivate, easy to look after and they multiply rapidly, the bad thing is they cost "an arm and a leg". If any of our readers have a pond and can spare anything we have a good home for it. The day after the pond was filled there were water boatmen and at least one aquatic beetle in residence.  Sparrows were frolicking around the shallows and the bees were making good use of damp soil around the fringes and the boggy area, for their colony water supplies.
So far this year on the Apiary, I've seen Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled wood (I think), Large White and Brimstone butterflies.  Numerous Bumble bees have been spotted foraging or hunting down a good nest site and also a couple of Queen wasps. We've seeded around the pond, grass and crimson clover, and I've sown various wild flowers in modules that we'll be able to plant around it in two or three weeks time. Colin and I are hoping to impress the visitors to our first Apiary open day on the 14th April. Fingers crossed!
As a point of interest both Colin and I have noticed, at least at this time of year, that even when they are not foraging for nectar or pollen there are always bees collecting water!  This is very noticeable on the Apiary because the main path leading to the Hives passes the bees favourite, on site, water source.  The bees also use the path in question to fly to and from the water source.  Hopefully visitors won't be alarmed.  Personally I love it.  For me a warm sunny day is made even balmier by the sound of honey bees buzzing busily about their business.  (Is there too much alliteration there?)
I inspected hives 1 and 2 yesterday (Friday)  and they were very strong, plenty of brood in all stages including drone and plenty of stores.  In H1 I found an open queen cell with a larva in it, it's been 4 or 5 days  from when the egg was laid, at a guess.  As there's only one cell this could mean supercedure and we are pretty early in the swarming season. To be on the safe side I'm going to carry out the artificial swarm manoeuvre described in this month's Beecraft.  So let's hope the weather is on my side tomorrow or on Monday.
Barry