abandoned nuke

[talon-ted]

I set up my first nuke with queen cell (not that close to hatching on 9th May. Left them in a cool dark stable for 4 days and then put them out in a far corner of my paddock.I opened the door the next day.

To my delight the bees were coming and going and after a week late I opened up and saw tyhat the queen had hatched.

Six days went by and i opened them up again and saw the queen but no eggs.

Today i walked past and noticed no activity. I opened up and found a totally empty nuke.

Was the queen killed on a mating flight?

Has any one any othet thoughts as to what may have gone wrong?

Thanks

Mark

 

[Erichalfbee]

You have to tell us what was on the rest of the frames.
Stores/brood/empty?
Sixteen days from setting up to Marie Celeste there should still be brood left.

If I read your post correctly you closed them up for the first 4 days in a cool dark stable.
For heaven's sake why?

 

[mbc]

absconded

 

[talon-ted]

Eric

Because that is what Ron Brown recommends in his pamphlet 'Honey Moon flats for Honeybee Queens'.

Do you think he is wrong? I would be intersted to know why and what you think I should have done.

I have always thought of him as a very wise man as well as a particularly fine writer.

Mark

 

[talon-ted]

Sorry I should have made it clear that this was a mininuke so it had fondant and pollen supplement and three mini frames with strips of undrawn foundation.

No brood of any sort (apart form the queen cell obviously).

What I am perplexed is that they seem to be getting on well. They had started to draw out the foundation and were bringing some pollen in.

Mark

 

[plumberman]

I would suspect overcrowding, especially if Apidea rather than the Kieler mini nuc. With the latter 300mls of bees (mug full) about right. Any more than that and I believe they are more likely to abscond.

What sort of volume of bees did you use?

 

[oliver90owner]

Do you think he is wrong?

Don't know whether yes or no.

You made a split not a nuc. A nuc or a split would likely be into a nuc hive, but they are different. So it may be a case of differentiating what he actually wrote and what you actually read (and then wrote). It may have lead to 'differing opinions' of what was actually meant. A bit like chinese whispers.

Of course at the other end of the hive size spectrum there are some on here that would have put that tiny split into a full hive with just foundation frames around it (look up mandy's posts).

Virgins will more likely abscond, than laying queens (with brood).

 

[Poly Hive]

I can only guess but..(and there is a huge difference between a nuc and a mini nuc)

I surmise your virgin got lost on a mating flight and your bees drifted to better homes.

Minis are very fast to react to adverse circumstances.

PH

 

[talon-ted]

Thank ypu for your replies I have amde up two new mininukes to replace it. i will not be opening them up so often this time around.

Mark