Best way to isolate an unmated queen?

[SimonB]

I have a cast swarm on about 3-4 standard national frames where the queen appears to be unmated. There are 8-10cm patches of drone brood either side of one frame and no further eggs that I can see.

I identified this when I inspected them on Saturday and found two sealed queen cells mid frame on another frame. I knocked those back and donated a frame with eggs from my main colony.

The main colony had swarmed earlier in the year, and the cast had originated from that colony also (I have an earlier thread where I explain where it all went wrong). The queen in the main colony had just started laying, so I didn't know at that point whether she was mated either.

I checked the main colony yesterday and I have capped worker brood, which is a relief, I have one viable colony it seems at least.

On checking the cast swarm I found young larvae from the donated frame, but no queen cells emanating from any of the cells. On the bottom of another frame I found an unsealed QC with two eggs. So my assumption is that they ignored the viable eggs/larvae and had the queen lay in the QC.

So I have two questions

1. Is the best course of action to remove the queen and donate another frame of eggs?

2. What might be the best way to isolate the queen. I spent some while yesterday trying to find her and couldn't. If she is unmated and therefore possibly small I presume that trying to filter her with a QX may not work?

Many thanks
Simon

 

[oliver90owner]

1) Of course the best course of action to remove the queen.. she is a drone layer and is of neither use nor ornament.

2) Anyway you can. No best way; lots of suggestions on lots of threads on here recently.

The first method you use that works, is the way to go!

The swarm does not seem big enough to warrant producing an emergency queen from them. Likely no better than a scrubby example. I would likely remove the queen and unite with another colony.

RAB

 

[drstitson]

"I would likely remove the queen and unite with another colony."

my thoughts exactly

 

[SimonB]

Thanks for the replies. I had considered uniting but really wanted to try to get two colonies this year. I also have the (supposedly) Q+ side of an A/S, which (for reasons described in another thread) was Q- and also now has a DLQ. I am going to unite what's left of that this weekend, but was waiting to ensure that one colony at least had a viable queen.

All in all this year has been a bit of a disaster and I regret leaving them un-inspected for two weeks which is when they swarmed, and then a series of unsuccessful actions that means I am almost back to last August when I got my nuc.

I've certainly learnt a lot and will hope not to make the same mistakes again.

Although it seems possible that I'll not be getting any honey this year, we will be getting a much increased fruit crop from the orchard which was one of the reasons for keeping bees in the first place.

 

[Midland Beek]

"I would likely remove the queen and unite with another colony."

my thoughts exactly

Ditto.

Do not expect the queen to be particularly findable. She may be an undersized specimen - just the type to fit through a queen excluder and to have laid loads of eggs in the super which you maybe haven't discovered yet.

If you really want two colonies, I suggest you kill this duff queen and unite, and they some while later make a 50:50 split, introducing a bought queen to the queenless part of the split.

Introducing a bought queen into your duff colony is almost as bad an idea as letting them raise a queen of their own.

 

[Midland Beek]

Although it seems possible that I'll not be getting any honey this year, we will be getting a much increased fruit crop from the orchard which was one of the reasons for keeping bees in the first place.

I think your bees might have preferred the dandelion or canola.