Introducing queen then eggs and larvae in Hive

[cfs633]

I had just obtained a queen for a "queen less" hive and placed her in her cage between brood frames for her to eat her way out. Checking on progress today and discovered larvae and eggs - not many in the hive and queen still in cage. I am guessing that perhaps we were not queenless rather a virgin queen. I don't know what to do, can I create a Nuc with my caged queen, should I let her eat her way out and see what happens, or something else.
Advice gratefully received.

 

[enrico]

Dead right. Create a nuc with a couple of frames of bees, NOT WITH THE NEW QUEEN ON!!
That way if you find the new queen is dud you still have your bought one. This is why I am always shouting 'patience'. So often new ( and old) beekeepers think they are q- and panic. Always allow more time than any book will tell you before you really believe that...... Queenlessness is not as common as 'we' are led to believe!
E

 

[Poly Hive]

A bit of a classic and at least you spotted matters in the nick of time. Not spotted the outcome was probably the new queen dead and possibly your own one injured and a forced supercedure. Messy.

I would put your new queen into a nuc. If you can spare them two frames of brood plus bees and shake in another couple to make sure you have enough bees to cover well, add queen in cage and ensure she cannot get out for a couple of days at least, plug nuc with grass (I am assuming this is in your apiary and not going to an out one?) and let them out after three days.

Replace taken combs with foundation frames.

Good luck

PH

 

[Midland Beek]

Eggs may mean a drone laying queen. But then I guess you will not know what that means.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

BTW it's the workers that release the queen by eating the fondant not vice versa - cover the fondant with a bit of masking tape for a few days to give the bees more time to get used to her before they can get at her if they seem a bit agressive. But yes, make up a nuc for her.

 

[cfs633]

Thanks for the advice I will create a Nuc, I assume the bee's that stay in the Nuc will be "non flying" bee's , in that case will I be able to move the Nuc to an Apiary 300m away? I realise that breaks the 3 or 3 mile rule?

 

[Dirksdonuts]

Make sure you have a Queen mated and laying as it could well be a virgin Queen laying drones. I got caught out like this a few weeks ago.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks for the advice I will create a Nuc, I assume the bee's that stay in the Nuc will be "non flying" bee's , in that case will I be able to move the Nuc to an Apiary 300m away? I realise that breaks the 3 or 3 mile rule?

Put a frame or two of brood and a frame of stores and if you have it some drawn comb so the new queen will have space to lay in the nuc then put in plenty of nurse bees (if you can, shake them off a super frame - less chance of flying bees) stuff some grass in the entrance of the nuc so any fliers will orientate when the grass wilts in a day or two and they get out.

 

[The Doctor]

I nearly got caught a couple of weeks ago with what I thought was a q- colony. Thought we had a laying worker becasue of the number of drones and no sight of the q for weeks. So ordered new queen.

Shook out the colony 50m or so away onto a table to get rid of laying workers. After taking back the now empty brood and other parts to the original site I noticed a big clump of bees on the table which were reluctant to move. I looked at them and found our old queen in amongst them. She got the chop and I was able to add the new queen a few days later. When we looked yesterday we found 2 frames of egss and 2 of brood. So it was a success.

Lesson learnt - expect the unexpected. Could have shaken them out through a qe and we would have spotted her straight away and saved a week or so.

Sean

 

[Poly Hive]

Shake them through an excluder... rough beekeeping that.

You might have considered using a test frame, and with no cells drawn it would have given pause for thought.

Always a test frame if in doubt, as it provides the confirmation one way or another.

More queens lost on into than any other way, in the main due to the colony NOT being q- As is said steadily here true Q- is relatively rare.

PH