A/S and wasps

Cedar · Aug 23, 2011

Help please.

On Sunday I found an unsealed QC with larvae in. I know it is late in the season but made the decision to do an A/S. I took the frame with the QC on and put it in a nuc box with 3 more frames from original hive with a mixture of different stage larvae and plenty of stores.

All seemed ok yesterday but after a day of persistent rain I checked just now as it's eased off for the moment and though their are bees there the wasps seem to have free access.

The entrance of the nuc is a circular hole of about 2cm may be less with a flip across door. I may be able to tape the door half closed.

We have put wasp traps around the apiary.

This hive is my Dads *&^%"%^ Langstroth which I'm supposed to be taking care of whilt he is in hospital, so other than the nuc box I have no spare hive.

Thanks C

davemacdon · Aug 23, 2011

Try and close the entrance down as much as possible. The wasps have had one of my hives, occupied it all and either drove out or more likely killed all the bees.

rae · Aug 23, 2011

The entrance of the nuc is a circular hole of about 2cm may be less with a flip across door. I may be able to tape the door half closed.

2cm would look like the channel tunnel to the average wasp...!

Close it up to one bee diameter - about 8 mm - a bit of cardboard taped across it will do in the short term. If the hive has "given up", then close them up, and put some weak syrup on to give them water + something to do.

MuswellMetro · Aug 23, 2011

Cedar said:
Help please.

On Sunday I found an unsealed QC with larvae in. .

i suspect it was a supersedure cell not a swarm cell, i would have not done a AS

no stores as you have removed honey
colder weather
falling number of bees as end of summer
A single Queen Cell

all points to superseding

see if you get a viable queen and recombine

also why inspect this time of year, i only heft my hives and put varroa treatment on now

Cedar · Aug 23, 2011

Thanks for advise, Floundering with this hive, it's been a problem from day one. They only superceded/swarmed at the begining of July! May be should have left well alone,but too late now, tomorrow will take a look inside, and see what if anything is left. I guess I haven't got my head round QC and what to do when. There are some dead wasps infront of the nuc. We need to either make a new lid or adjust the old one to allow us to fed them.
As for not inspecting, My Dads other hive is still going strong since we moved it to our apiary as we have heather nearby. Our 2 were late aquisitions and we have been feeding them up since we got them, and they are reducing laying now. We had planned to varroa treat them but wanted to do all 4 together, after we have removed the honey from hive 2.