Hive not thriving

[Speybee]

I have a hive that swarmed this season and managed to successfully hive the prime swarm and hive the first cast.The prime swarm we successfully replaced the old queen with a mated caged queen and the first cast had a newly mated queen, both hives now doing well.
Problem is the ‘swarmy‘ hive, I checked through the brood nest for queen cells and queen and found nothing.
Inserted a queen excluder above the deep brood nest so they could cap off the unsealed honey above in the honey super.
Introduced a blue dot marked, mated caged queen who was accepted, three weeks later on saw her.
Last week at inspection found some fresh sealed brood ABOVE the queen excluder but no sign of an unmarked queen and a pepper pot pattern of drone brood below the queen excluder in the deep brood nest.
Decided to remove queen excluder to let them fight it out to have a brood and a half but despite going through hive twice DID NOT see the blue dot queen, or any other queen.
There were no eggs in the half brood box this week and none in the deep brood box.
Have I got a poorly mated caged queen laying drone cells?
Or have I got no queen at all?
Advice would be really welcome please.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have a hive that swarmed this season and managed to successfully hive the prime swarm and hive the first cast.The prime swarm we successfully replaced the old queen with a mated caged queen and the first cast had a newly mated queen, both hives now doing well.
Problem is the ‘swarmy‘ hive, I checked through the brood nest for queen cells and queen and found nothing.
Inserted a queen excluder above the deep brood nest so they could cap off the unsealed honey above in the honey super.
Introduced a blue dot marked, mated caged queen who was accepted, three weeks later on saw her.
Last week at inspection found some fresh sealed brood ABOVE the queen excluder but no sign of an unmarked queen and a pepper pot pattern of drone brood below the queen excluder in the deep brood nest.
Decided to remove queen excluder to let them fight it out to have a brood and a half but despite going through hive twice DID NOT see the blue dot queen, or any other queen.
There were no eggs in the half brood box this week and none in the deep brood box.
Have I got a poorly mated caged queen laying drone cells?
Or have I got no queen at all?
Advice would be really welcome please.

Looks like you have no queen at all - the 'brood' pattern pattern is that of laying workers

 

[Speybee]

Thanks for advice.
Have you any idea why the introduced mated caged queen survived over the 2 weeks...or did the laying workers dob her in?
Do you think I should introduce another mated caged queen ASAP?...after I check the hive again for evidence of a queen or do I just combine this hive with a stronger hive?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks for advice.
Have you any idea why the introduced mated caged queen survived over the 2 weeks...or did the laying workers dob her in?
Do you think I should introduce another mated caged queen ASAP?...after I check the hive again for evidence of a queen or do I just combine this hive with a stronger hive?

Doubt it was 'laying workers' who did her in, doesn't work like that. Bees will sometimes keep an introduced queen for a short while then kill her and make a queen cell.
I would either unite or just shake them out (my favoured option)

 

[Speybee]

The option I have to favour is the newspaper method, the way my apiary is situated in my garden/orchard but I require access for mowing the lawn so I am constrained regards moving my hive across that direction.
The healthy National hive on one deep brood box now has to accommodate the one and a half brood from the ‘swarmy’ laying worker National hive.
Do you think I would be fine to remove the one and a half brood swarmy hive and place it on top of the pin pricked sheet of newspaper covering the healthy National hive on one deep brood box?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The option I have to favour is the newspaper method, the way my apiary is situated in my garden/orchard but I require access for mowing the lawn so I am constrained regards moving my hive across that direction.
The healthy National hive on one deep brood box now has to accommodate the one and a half brood from the ‘swarmy’ laying worker National hive.
Do you think I would be fine to remove the one and a half brood swarmy hive and place it on top of the pin pricked sheet of newspaper covering the healthy National hive on one deep brood box?

yes.

 

[Speybee]

Ok thanks for the advice.
I will have a look through the frames for a queen just to be sure, then get the pinpricked newspaper sheet over the broodbox.

 

[Speybee]

Ok thanks for the advice.
I will have a look through the frames for a queen just to be sure, then get the pinpricked newspaper sheet over the broodbox.

 

[Speybee]

Just finished inspecting the ‘swarmy’ National and lo and behold was the blue dot mated caged queen installed on 11July.
Over the brood and a half far less capped drone brood which must have hatched as lots of drones flying.
On the bottom quarter of one of the frames were single eggs.
So have decided to leave alone until next week’s inspection and see if more eggs laid.
Thanks for the advice as it gave me the confidence to have another more thorough look this time.