Drone Comb

[stuart]

Checked one of the hives yesterday, not quite the weakest, to find a laying worker. Over 5 frames of sealed drone comb. No sign of any queen. Is this colony now doomed as I have read. Can I add a frame from another hive with eggs or unite with another colony or any other way of saving the colony?

 

[masterBK]

You mean laying workers (plural) as there is rarely ever one laying worker (if so then it acts like a pseudoqueen). How do you know you don't have a drone laying queen (as lots of these this year) ? If laying workers then waste of time normally trying to requeen it. I wouldn't unite it as I have lost queens in the past in the colonies I united them with. Usually I remove hive from site and shake bees out well away from the other hives so that bees fly back and enter adjacent hives. All that drone brood means high Varroa levels so put comb out for the birds.

 

[BeeJayBee]

This thread has been drowned out, and pushed away from the top of the page by more recent ones. So this is a 'bump'.