Brood in super and brood box

[Erichalfbee]

Hi Erica
in the same pics there are some single eggs, in the centre of the cell so could it be a virgin queen taking time to sort her laying out? as from most of the books only queens can lay in the centre of the cell, the workers lay slightly on the side?
we had roughly the same and it was a queen slow to get going.

Yes but you have to look at the big picture
Look at the existing brood pattern

 

[Erichalfbee]

If it is laying workers, from what very little experience i have, my understanding is that you would need to put a few test frames of brood in, for the brood pheromone to suppress the worker ovaries! and from some of the older threads its common to take a few weeks of test frames.

hopefully a more experienced Beek will give more comprehensive advice.

Yes often three or four are needed
A waste of resources in my opinion

 

[Erichalfbee]

Sorry, what do you mean shake them out? Wont they just fly back in?

You have three other colonies.
Make sure the bees are flying. No point in doing this on a rainy day
Put the varroa inspection trays under them so that there is no access under the hives ( only for a few hours)
Smoke your failed colony then ten minutes later pick up the box and take it twenty feet away in front of the other hives.
Shake all the bees off the frames into the grass.
Take their old home away

They will fly back but their home is gone and they will beg their way into the neighbouring colonies. You will get some hangers on overnighting on the stand but they will gradually disperse

 

[eltalia]

Here are some photos to hopefully explain better what I am seeing in the hive:

Https://myalbum.com/album/KAtgyaE7ibu7

... thankyou, great photo work.
Confirming LWS (laying workers syndrome) installed and quite advanced
which makes one wonder how the info in your post #3 now fits as these
signs were present on that last inspection.
There are signs of mite frass but other than this the frames are likely
worth a quick gas/freeze and throw in elsewhere for cleanup.
Given the bee numbers I'd be locking them down to a single box at dusk
to take them for a drive far way and dump them out.

Bill

 

[Erichalfbee]

...
Given the bee numbers I'd be locking them down to a single box at dusk
to take them for a drive far way and dump them out.

Bill

Gods sake Belly don’t do that!
Do what I said

 

[eltalia]

Gods sake Belly don’t do that!
Do what I said

THE BEES you are suggesting be dumped in front of working colonys
are of age laying workers, numbering a few thousand - the OPs own estimate.
With such low numbers AND the indiscriminate action of dumping out
in an apiary they know are you going to guarantee absolutely no chance
these bees will not impact adversely on the other colonys, or one of?

Been at this too long to take that amount of confidence to the
Internet, I tellya.
Buuuut you go right ahead... defend the indefensible.

Bill

 

[Beefriendly]

Billox you are talking bollox.
I've done this successfully on several occasions with no adverse affects. The opposite in fact, as bee numbers are boosted in the hives they join.
If you don't understand why this works like this, just ask and I'll explain the simple biology involved.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Billox you are talking bollox.
I've done this successfully on several occasions with no adverse affects. The opposite in fact, as bee numbers are boosted in the hives they join.
If you don't understand why this works like this, just ask and I'll explain the simple biology involved.

Yes indeed
And in my experience most of them go into the one hive they were next to rather than distributing themselves amongst the others

 

[thedozzer]

Yes indeed
And in my experience most of them go into the one hive they were next to rather than distributing themselves amongst the others

Or being bees, will go in the hive you don't want them to!!
Our Queenless nuc that we shook out went into our strong hive that was already a bit overcrowded, ignoring the smaller one that was nearer and could have done with the extra bees and where they originally came from?
But it did work OK, there is some thoughts though that if there are too many Laying workers they can disrupt the hive they go into?