One of those hives had a patch of eggs at the weekend, as as long as they're worker and not drone (I'll know when the larvae are capped) then everything's OK. Hopefully the others will be laying as well very shortly. It's a bit late in the season, but native British bees are known for raising queens very late, so it's not too late. It's slow progress with my hedge cutting, since it's a horrible job, but I did another 15 yards or so yesterday. I'm getting there, and once it's all cut back, hopefully I'll manage to keep pace with it this time.