Mould in the comb? Possibly no queen

[GothicKeeper]

Hi,

I've just got a swarm on 3 to 5 frames and when I've come to transfer them over, while doing my inspection for the queen I noticed two things: I saw a few drones but no queen (I may have a queen less swarm, there's no capping on any comb) but also in the bottom of some of the comb there what looks like mould. Descriptively speaking it looks like run of the mill bread mould.

Do I need to scrap that frame and order a queen or should I just let it die out, sterilise and restart?

Thanks
Xander

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

when was the swarm caught? what were they in when you caught it? a bit confused as to what you mean by 'transferring over' did they build all the comb you were looking at or what?

 

[GothicKeeper]

when was the swarm caught? what were they in when you caught it? a bit confused as to what you mean by 'transferring over' did they build all the comb you were looking at or what?

Sorry, I didn't catch them someone else did, i dont know when he caught it but they were in the nuc for at least a week. the comb they came on was what they've built but he supplied the foundations. When I say transfer I mean from the nuc to my hive, I inspected numbers but not the comb when I took them off his hands

 

[Erichalfbee]

there's no capping on any comb)

Do you mean there is no brood?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

so it's all new fresh stuff - there is no mould, what you may be seeing is royal jelly at the base of polished cells.
You know nothing about the swarm (probably he didn't either) so you don't know whether it's a prime or a cast swarm. I'm assuming it's a six frame nuc. Have they drawn out all the comb? by the sounds of it they will be fine in the nuc for a while.
If they haven't drawn out all the comb, then give them a small feed of 1:1 syrup.
If you haven't seen any eggs or brood yet, there's a good chance the queen is yet to mate, so the best thing you can do is leave them in peace and not fiddle.

 

[GothicKeeper]

so it's all new fresh stuff - there is no mould, what you may be seeing is royal jelly at the base of polished cells.
You know nothing about the swarm (probably he didn't either) so you don't know whether it's a prime or a cast swarm. I'm assuming it's a six frame nuc. Have they drawn out all the comb? by the sounds of it they will be fine in the nuc for a while.
If they haven't drawn out all the comb, then give them a small feed of 1:1 syrup.
If you haven't seen any eggs or brood yet, there's a good chance the queen is yet to mate, so the best thing you can do is leave them in peace and not fiddle.

They haven't drawn out all the comb no, they have only built up 3-4 of the 5 frames. My apologies for being a complete novice, I was treating this like I had bought a complete nuc as I've not had a swarm before and today I transferred them from the nuc to the hive thinking they needed it as from what the guy i got them from said I thought they had filled all the comb.

I have however given them the 1:1 feed to make sure they had plenty

 

[Erichalfbee]

they have only built up 3-4 of the 5 frames.

Then they need to be in a nuc box not in a full size hive. Or at least dummy down the brood box to give frames with an insulated dummy board

 

[ericbeaumont]

haven't drawn out all the comb no, they have only built up 3-4 of the 5 frames

As Dani said, they should stay in a nuc until the queen has mated (she may have logged it's shape into her sat-nav already) and that box is full.

Today I upgraded two 6f nucs; both had 5 frames of brood, and bees up in the feeder, so I was a bit late in doing the job, but they'll zoom ahead in this weather and blackberry flow.

Do I need to scrap that frame and order a queen

Neither, just order some patience.

Bees will clear the mould when they've filled the nuc box and can thermo-regulate more effectively; you haven't got a queenless swarm (no such thing) but likely a virgin running around about to mate, so don't try and buy your way out of this temporary mystery because your £40 will be killed.

 

[GothicKeeper]

Thanks all for your advice, its certainly put my mind at ease, from what I'm gathering I just need to get some restrictor boards into the hive I've just put them into to keep them comfortable

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

also in the bottom of some of the comb there what looks like mould. Descriptively speaking it looks like run of the mill bread mould

been thinking about this whilst inspecting this afternoon.
Good chance what you are seeing is pollen from the brambles which the bees are bringing in now.

 

[ericbeaumont]

get some restrictor boards

Yes, chop up some 50mm building insulation boards - the silver-backed sort. You might find offcuts near a building site or in a skip.