A little advice please

[iamduvern]

Last September I was given a hive with a strong colony and was advised that no treatment would be required for the forseable future it appeared to winter well and upon the first couple of inspections seemed to be doing ok.
Three weeks ago there was 3 frames of brood and lots of activity having done my weekly checks I have found that the colony does not appear to be moving on there seems to be no real increase in numbers where as my second hive is comming on leaps and bounds the second hive which appeared to be weaker at the start of the year.Bees are bring in pollen but the numbers seem very low
I haven't been able to find the Q for the last couple of inspections
So any suggestions as to how I can get them going and build up numbers

 

[oliver90owner]

forseable future

Now there is a term which can be any time - now, shortly, even never!

Without knowing any more history or detail than that given, I would suspect varroa , among plenty of other possibilities.

start of the year

Guessing again - January? Or maybe September?

RAB

 

[iamduvern]

Varroa treatment was given in September before I recieved them A local beek then had a look on my first inspection and told me that everything appeared to be well unfortunatly I can not call upon her services at the moment as she is not well so I am having to refer to books and tinternet and I do not want to start treating willy nilly
This is only my second year so I do not have many points of reference so Im really looking for an idiots guide on steps to take

 

[Tom Bick]

A simple thing to do is put the varroa tray in for 5-7 days and count the natural drop and run it through the Bee Base varroa calculator. This will confirm one or perhaps eliminate a prime suspect.

 

[RoseCottage]

Can you see any eggs or very small, young larvae? Not seeing the queen is not in itself an issue. How old is the queen? The older she is eventually she becomes less efficient.

If after you have checked for Varroa, and have satisfied yourself that all is ok, you could introduce a test frame containing eggs, larvae, and brood. This would help you identify whether the queen is present and may also give a boost to the colony. If she is not you should see queen cells created from the eggs.


Also, you suggested they were a strong colony that overwintered well and started the spring in a normal way. Could they have swarmed? If so you may have a virgin that has recently mated or is about to. If so her laying should get the colony moving again. You would expect to see an increase in pollen collection soon.

How is their location and forage? Are they more exposed than your other hive? In terms of forage, is there plenty available? You may choose to feed some sugar syrup or give them a pollen patty.

Finally from me, you should check for other obvious signs of disease...does the hive smell unusual and unpleasant (often an indication of EFB)? Are there any sunken capped brood or brood cells with sticky brown Goo in the brood cells? Any sign of chalk brood or nosema (often an increase in bee poo)?

I hope this useful to get you thinking?
All the best,
Sam