AAAAHHHHH!!!!! Help!!!! really confused

[dpearce4]

hiya

bought a nuc mid april from an auction, when they were examined by auctioneer he thought maybe dodgy queen, but didnt mind as were cheap. got them home and moved them into hive. good start.

week later with mentor here split the colony as had produce QC put QC and 4 frames in second hive. left HM in first hive and 1 frame. fed both syrup.

checked both hives week later hive 1 had another QC some eggs and brood, not masses though. mentor advised to dipose HM which we did, she is now feeling very very cold.

have left hives for 2 weeks as having read the forum everyone says to leave them alone so new queen can mate.

Today sitting watching tv and hive 1 swarms. swarm stays in garden onto banana tree. manage to box it up. and leave it till tonight to hive.

think i had better check both hives see whats going on.

hive 1 has lovely big queen in it. capped stores and a very little capped brood, no eggs or lavue.

hive 2 couldnt see queen or QC no brood or lavue, little capped stores.

all afternoon hive 1 has had 50+ bees on landing strip fanning like mad.

went to hive swarm this evening having made up frames. they have absconded, phoned all swarm catchers on our BKA list and none of them have had a call from my area about swarm this afternoon. wasnt the biggest swarm maybe 3-5000 bees.

anyone got any ideas?

 

[For want of a better word]

Doing just what bees do... confounding the beekeeper!

What do you call cheap ?
Problem with auctions is you can never be sure of the providence of the bees.
This lot sound like particularly swarmy bees.
Let them sit for a week or so, order up a nice queen.
In the queenless colony if no eggs try a test frame from your mentor with some new eggs.
Watch the fat queen colony to see if she starts to lay.
Give them some weak syrup... 5:1

I am only guessing and hope you get some more suggestions, so that I can learn too!!

Good luck!!

 

[dpearce4]

What do you call cheap ?

£85.00 cheap the next cheapest was £180

 

[For want of a better word]

£85.00 cheap the next cheapest was £180

ouch!!!

 

[dpearce4]

In the queenless colony if no eggs try a test frame from your mentor with some new eggs.

if i put a frame of eggs in wat will it do?

 

[plumber rob]

If you are queenless and you put a frame in with some eggs i think the bees will make a queen cell me thinks but don't hold me to that because bees do what bees do lol.

 

[For want of a better word]

​

live in hope & die in despair!

 

[enrico]

find some eggs and scrape the wax down to the foundation for about an inch under the cells with the eggs in. This leaves a space under these cells with the eggs, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will make QCells at this point and if they don't then they have no need for them. It just helps you to know where to look for the cells and is a really worthwhile tip for the future too!!
E

 

[MuswellMetro]

two weeks is too short a time to add eggs


Hive 2 you found a single QC which may be 7 days old, that emerged end of first week, by second week she is ready to mate, so you have a hive with a queen that is not yet on mating flights, it will be upto 7 to 21 days before eggs are laid depending on weather and her HM attitude

Hive 1 you have a virgin queen mating and the bees are fanning her home and the 5000 bees that left will be caste of bees with a second virgin queen that emerge from a QC you missed made at day 5-7

you bees appear to be doing it to the book

hive 1 eggs in about 3 to 10 days

hive 2 add 7 days as she is 7 days behind

 

[drstitson]

well put MM.

 

[oliver90owner]

drstitson,



RAB