Advice on 2 Queens in Hive

[Luka22]

Today I inspected the Hives and spotted an unmarked Queen. I got my Queen Catcher and when I looked again on the Frame, the Queen now had a bright yellow mark on her back. Before I started to question my mind, I saw a second Queen passing by on that frame and I have to admit in the few years I got Bees this is the very first time that I have noticed that.

My first thought was that the old Queen might be killed any time soon or maybe even swarm so I decided to remove the new Queen after marking her. The marking went terribly wrong, the young girl managed to get out of the Queen Catcher and flew off.

Since I knew that there is a good chance that she would return, I decided to move now the old Queen instead into a Poly Nuc. So I took about 4 frames with the old Queen. I then added another BB with a Queen Excluder in between, the box was so full of bees so I wanted them to spread around more to be able to find the Queen when she returns. The plan worked well, I checked again after a few hours, the Bees had split up so less on the Frames and I found the young girl and she is now marked. I thought I did everything right till I checked on internet about 2 Queens in a Hive and I read that is very common and you can leave them together for overwintering. Argghh, was it a mistake to separate them?

I was just worried to lose a laying Queen, even if I think there was not a lot of Brood available and the Question would have been if a young Queen will still mate, so I thought that it is best to safe the old Queen which is actually from this year as well.

Should I combine them again tomorrow or is it too late? Should I put the old Queen above the old BB with a Queen Excluder in between and let them overwinter like that and if the bottom Queen does not get mated get rid of her and remove the Queen Excluder?

What is now advisable to do?

 

[colinc]

they were superseding and it is variable how long the old queen will hang around before they bump her off or she dies. I would keep her separate in the poly nuc now that you have split them, overwinter her in there. If the new queen isn't mated or doesn't start laying in next 2-3 weeks then you can reunite them.

 

[Luka22]

Thank you, that was my thought as well, a possible Supersedure which is a risk so late in the year with mating. I also found a single capped Queen Cell in another Hive which is my favorite Colony, so I suppose they have the same plans no idea why. She is a great Queen, laying well, from this year, calm bees.

So I hope the split will work out and as you said if she does not mate she will go and the Hive re-united.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

A perfect supersedure, you should have left them to it, they wouldn't have got rid of the ld queen until the new one was up and running and proven to be good.
They might have co-existed until the spring.
Too late to do anythig about it now just wait and see what transpires.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes don't remove any queen, You might remove the wrong one.
At least you have kept the old one.
Watch out for her new colony superseding her and check for worker brood in the old one