Just checked on new hive

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Baggyone

House Bee
Joined
Apr 15, 2009
Messages
490
Reaction score
0
Location
South Lincs, uk
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
12
So I picked up my nuc last Tuesday, hived it tuesday afternoon after leaving it a few hours not seeing the queen. Went through on Friday and saw no new eggs and queen cells being made. Told the supplier who are organising a queen for me.
Went in today to see what was what. No eggs (no surprise) two capped queen cells (emergency ones) on one frame, and only a handful of uncapped brood.
Methinks her maj may not have been in the box when I got it. According to everything I have read I would expect her last eggs to get capped wednesday or thursday if she had come home with me.

My only hive and I'm nervous.
 
That happened to me Baggy. In fact I suspect the queen was unmated and flew off never to return when I got the nuc home and hived it.

I put it back in the nuc box three days later and took it back to my supplier, telling him I thought it was queenless. He said ok no probs he would sort it out. After about a week he agreed the nuc had become queenless and said he would re-queen or start again foc.

The nuc is still with him atm as, due to my novice status, I have decided to always check for absence of disease and presence of eggs and brood before taking the bees home. That way I know I've got a good start and problems which crop up are probably of my making, so I can then seek help to deal with them.

I have since learned from experienced beeks that these bees are 'slow' bees and the queens do take ages to start laying sometimes.

JC.
 
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If frames moves (shake) when transporting, it is not unusual that a fat queen will be squeezed between frames.
 
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