Hopelessly queen less Hive

[MattS]

This is my first full year keeping bee`s. I have gone from 2 to 4 hives following 2 successful splits. However I lost some bees due to a swarm I failed to stop. I thought I would be OK as I had several queen cells. I removed some and left what I thought was the best cell however no queen emerged. I tried to introduce a new queen but 4 weeks later there has been no sign of anything and I cant find the new queen. I now have a hive that is hopelessly queen less. There are no eggs or brood, is it to late in the year to try to add a new queen. If I do should I also add a frame of brood.

 

[Erichalfbee]

A brood frame with young larvae is good. Hopefully it will tell you whether there is a queen of sorts in there. If they make queen cells then your best bet now would be to remove them and unite the bees to another colony.
If they don’t then it’s hunt the queen or shake them out.
You have checked carefully for laying workers?

 

[ericbeaumont]

should I also add a frame of brood

Yes, add a test frame as Dani suggested, but brood pheromone will also suppress the appearance of laying workers.

 

[MattS]

A brood frame with young larvae is good. Hopefully it will tell you whether there is a queen of sorts in there. If they make queen cells then your best bet now would be to remove them and unite the bees to another colony.
If they don’t then it’s hunt the queen or shake them out.
You have checked carefully for laying workers?

Ok , I’ve popped a frame of brood in and I’ll wait and see what happens.

 

[Gina]

Ok , I’ve popped a frame of brood in and I’ll wait and see what happens.

I had a small swarm but the queen left! So my mentor put in a broad frame and they made a queen which must have flown and been mated as we now have eggs! However the hive is very small so I am feeding them up to get a bigger colony.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I had a small swarm but the queen left! So my mentor put in a broad frame and they made a queen which must have flown and been mated as we now have eggs! However the hive is very small so I am feeding them up to get a bigger colony.

Feeding will help but won’t make them bigger. They need bees for that. Dummy the space down so that they aren’t rattling around in a cavern.

 

[JamezF]

Feeding will help but won’t make them bigger.

If only that were always true...

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

If only that were always true...

James

Yep.

 

[ericbeaumont]

the hive is very small so I am feeding them up to get a bigger colony.

Which is small: the hive or the colony in it?

Best option: put the best 6 combs in a poly nuc (a really small hive) and they'll fatten for winter quicker.