basket case hive - what do i do.

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dpearce4

Queen Bee
Joined
Apr 24, 2011
Messages
3,527
Reaction score
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Location
Coastal, West Sussex
Hive Type
Commercial
Number of Hives
a few more than last year but still not enough
hi

a what point do most beeks give up on a hive?

i have one that i would say has less than 2000 workers and drones. it has a QC that looks like it is being distroyed by the workers. all the wax down 1 side has been removed. is was sealed when i looked last sunday.

there is dead lavae from before the split was done. there is no eggs no live brood. very little stores (have added a fast feeder to it today) but plenty of pollen.

my other hive has a very small amount of sealed brood on 2 frames. a QC that has a hinged lid open and a worker cleaning it out?

plenty of sealed stores, has had 3lots of 1kg syrup in past week. is drawing comb on new foundation. bees are coming and going bringing in pollen.

cant see new queen if she exists but there was a high pitched sound, i would discribe it like a very high pitched buzz was this piping? when i was putting the crown board back on the hive.

there was no eggs but wasnt expecting to see any as the QC was sealed last sunday when the previous queen was removed.

god i wish i had taken pics to show.
 
For the sound of Queen piping look at Sticky Threads on this forum and you will see the link and hear her. I don't know if the link below will lead you to it beekeepingforum-Queen-piping.wav
 
The hinged lid to the queen cell will indicate a virgin queen emerged from the cell recently. You should now leave the hive alone for three weeks min to let her mature mate and start to lay.

As for the other hive I don’t know I am thinking you split this hive after a swarm? As you refer to queen cells in each hive and no mention of original queen. Perhaps it was to small and has been robed out.
 
when did the hive last have a queen?

the smaller basket case hive was split from the other under the advice of my mentor. it has not had a queen now for 3weeks. the QC was sealed when i last looked last sunday and empty today, half the side missing. im wondering if she has emerged and they are breaking it down to reuse the wax for something else.

would it be best to leave alone for 3 weeks and just watch to see if they start bringing in pollen?

they have been coming and going but no pollen coming in, so i emagine they may be just bringing in nectar to keep themselves fed. thats why i have put a fast feeder with syrup ontop.
 
For the sound of Queen piping look at Sticky Threads on this forum and you will see the link and hear her. I don't know if the link below will lead you to it beekeepingforum-Queen-piping.wav

yep link didnt work lol but found it.

it was very much like that but without the end bit. did the rize at the beginning but not the pulse at the end. does this mean i have a virgin queen?
 
They could both be queenright. I'd leave alone and see what happens. (Feed if need of course!)
 

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