What came first, the mite or the egg?

There was nothing good in letting those ugly gnomites feed on my daughters even a second longer, and there was little I could do to prepare for the cell-opening operation.

And that little I did.

All bees who weren't involved in the cell opening were told to avoid this part of the hive until further notice. All bees that *were* involved had to thoroughly wash themselves, and not just in the nearest suspicious rainwater pond, but with boiled water!

Our pottery didn't develop far enough to make bathtubs, yet, so it was just a sponge bath.

But hey, sanitation, right?

And we all wore leather masks, of course—for all the good as they did without gloves.

There were only three bees involved in the first operation: me, Tabletina, and Writingdown. If all went well, Writingdown would document the operation, and Tabletina will teach others how to do it.

All three of us gathered in an empty cell in the brood comb for the last check.