can some help

[sorus]

Hi i seem to have a large problem, im in my first year of keeping bees and brought a nuc last year which over wintered very. 10 days ago they swamed, i checked on them the next day only to find there were no eggs or larve, i checked again yesterday and still no eggs. how long before new queen starts to lay, dose this sound like the old queen died and if their is no queen at all is it best to introduce a new queen or one still in her cell many thanks for your time

 

[Kim]

Queenless colony

Hi i seem to have a large problem, im in my first year of keeping bees and brought a nuc last year which over wintered very. 10 days ago they swamed, i checked on them the next day only to find there were no eggs or larve, i checked again yesterday and still no eggs. how long before new queen starts to lay, dose this sound like the old queen died and if their is no queen at all is it best to introduce a new queen or one still in her cell many thanks for your time

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Are you sure there is no new queen present? They are longer and orange in colour, thin if it is still a virgin. I think it takes 2 weeks for a new virgin to be mated. May be she met her demise while out mating.

If you can't see any queen cells (cells are longer, with poked-mark surface) then as you haven't got any more eggs or larvae, you will need to either introduce a frame of brood with eggs and young larvae for the colony to try and raise another queen or introduce a new queen to the colony.

If you leave the colony queenless for too long, workers will take over and start laying, but they can only produce drones. In that case the colony needs careful handling. Also, they would not accept a new queen when they have been without a queen for a while (I have one like that after losing a queen in winter).

Best to contact your local beekeeping club if you have got one for advice. Most members are brilliant for advices. Good luck.

Kim

 

[Mike a]

Hi i seem to have a large problem, im in my first year of keeping bees and brought a nuc last year which over wintered very. 10 days ago they swamed, i checked on them the next day only to find there were no eggs or larve, i checked again yesterday and still no eggs. how long before new queen starts to lay, dose this sound like the old queen died and if their is no queen at all is it best to introduce a new queen or one still in her cell many thanks for your time

Welcome to the forums Sorus

If they are still in a nuc from last year you should of seen during your inspections they may of been running low on space for the queen to lay and the workers space to store pollen, nectar and honey. If theres no space for the queen to lay it will trigger the colony to prepare to swarm. You should of seen queen cells being made which stick out from the frames.

Have you removed any queen cells before or after they swarmed?