5 weeks queen -. Possible to requeen??

[Chris-W]

First post. Please be gentle.

So start of May. Single colony has a queen cells almost ready. Do an AS. Hive with queen no queen cells and single frame of eggs and brood etc with plenty of stores swarms the very next day. Prime swarm. I 'nuc' it, scratch my head and in 48 hours they have legged it.

AS'd hive raises queen cells. I pick one. Whack the others. Said queen never appears. Hive that swarmed raises queen - which vanishes. Swifts lunch I reckon.

Net is two q- weak colonies. Acquire queen introduce into As hive . Follow the 'rules' in cage with candy etc.

They kill her.

6 weeks in 2 q- . No brood no laying workers apparently.

Is there any likelihood of being able to requeen. They must all be oap ++ by now

What does everyone think I should do?

 

[wightbees]

Have you got a Q right colony to put a test frame into Q- hives?

 

[Chris-W]

Sadly not. Second year only doing this.

 

[Poly Hive]

Member of local assoc and ask to "borrow" one?

As you have expensively discovered the greatest danger to introduced queens is the hive not being checked before hand to establish if there is a QUEEN OF SOME SORT in residence.

Hence the advice to use a test frame to avoid just this happening.

PH

 

[Chris-W]

Yes I will do that. But if def no queen is it feasible to requeen after 6 weeks. Or am I just wasting my time ?

 

[For want of a better word]

Some use a q- colony to raise queens and then requeen the colony.... however new brood is constantly added to the stock.

Get a frame of brood with new eggs and larvae, put that in an see what the outcome is?

Good luck

Nos da

 

[Finman]

.
Buy a laying Queen.

.

 

[Chris-W]

Thanks everyone. I will try again with a new queen after I have used a test frame. Not a member of an association- wake up call I will join my local one.

I'll post the outcome.....

 

[GaryB]

Following on from this, slightly different scenario. Have Q- main hive after AS split into a nuc. Nuc queen (virgin - mated) well established and laying well. Intention is to add test frame from nuc to Q- hive so they can raise emergency queen. Assuming they will create QC's, should I tear down additional QC's leaving one good one, or will they only raise one QC if emergency requeening?

 

[Chris-W]

Requeened one of the two colonies successfully. 7 days after un-taping the candy plug there are eggs, larvae and sealed worker brood.

Not much of it mind.

I was going to unite with the other q- colony - but it has most definitely gone laying worker. (drone brood at the bottom of frames and random drone brood across the frames. No worker brood).

What to do?

1. Cant spare a brood frame from the now Q+ colony (it only has two with brood...).

2. Shake it out remove its own hive and let them beg entrance to the good hive.

3. Leave it a week until the 'good' hive is really cracking on, shake them out, let them return to their own box which now has a frame of brood in it borrowed from the good hive.

4. Leave them to die happy as drone rearing oap's - the youngest must be 4.5 weeks old

Voting lines will close after beer o'clock

 

[Millet]

Requeened one of the two colonies successfully. 7 days after un-taping the candy plug there are eggs, larvae and sealed worker brood.

Not much of it mind.

I was going to unite with the other q- colony - but it has most definitely gone laying worker. (drone brood at the bottom of frames and random drone brood across the frames. No worker brood).

What to do?

1. Cant spare a brood frame from the now Q+ colony (it only has two with brood...).

2. Shake it out remove its own hive and let them beg entrance to the good hive.

3. Leave it a week until the 'good' hive is really cracking on, shake them out, let them return to their own box which now has a frame of brood in it borrowed from the good hive.

4. Leave them to die happy as drone rearing oap's - the youngest must be 4.5 weeks old

Voting lines will close after beer o'clock

Personally i would do option 2 as long as you are certain you do not have a drone laying Queen in there.

 

[beesbeesbees]

Yes do option two if there is brood in the super

 

[Millet]

Yes do option two if there is brood in the super

You have me confused which is not hard lol, but what do you mean.

 

[kevrhcfag]

Requeened one of the two colonies successfully. 7 days after un-taping the candy plug there are eggs, larvae and sealed worker brood.

Not much of it mind.

I was going to unite with the other q- colony - but it has most definitely gone laying worker. (drone brood at the bottom of frames and random drone brood across the frames. No worker brood).

What to do?

1. Cant spare a brood frame from the now Q+ colony (it only has two with brood...).

2. Shake it out remove its own hive and let them beg entrance to the good hive.

3. Leave it a week until the 'good' hive is really cracking on, shake them out, let them return to their own box which now has a frame of brood in it borrowed from the good hive.

4. Leave them to die happy as drone rearing oap's - the youngest must be 4.5 weeks old

Voting lines will close after beer o'clock

You sure!

Shake them out remove hive start again.