Mystery QC

[Mandeville]

Sorry in advance - this is going to be a long post!

I've a mystery on my hands and I think it's necessary to give some background.

So I'm putting in extracts from my hive notes from last year.

The queen in this hive was marked and clipped early in the season. After 10/6/17 she was never seen again, although she was obviously around. I did a split after the attempted swarm on 24/6/17.

10/06/17 Q seen, Brood on 6 frames

17/06/17 Q not seen, Brood on 6+ frames

24/06/17 Multiple closed QC found, all but one removed.
Q not seen, presume lost during attempted swarm – bee numbers not depleted.

30/06/17 QC opened

14/07/17 Eggs and larvae on 2 frames

21/07/17 Brood on 2 frames

01/08/17 Brood on 5 frames
1 opened QC found + 2 torn down ?superceded

11/08/17 Brood on 5 frames

18/08/17 Brood on 5 frames
1 open QC – superceding again??

23/08/17 Brood on 5 frames, inc eggs
QC closed

31/08/17 Brood on 6 frames, inc eggs
QC torn down but two more open QC found. Left one.

14/09/17 QC opened.

No more records apart from OA trickle in Jan until today.

Today there was some brood on a few frames and 1 large closed QC.
Then found a queen - very skinny and weedy, who was unclipped and had something silvery-looking on her thorax which could have been the remnants of marking.
I decided there was nothing to be done for now so went back to the QC frame to mark it with a drawing pin. When I cleared the burr comb off it, there was already a drawing pin in exactly the right place.

They surely aren't thinking of superceding already? Did they try again after my last full inspection in September? And how could I have a marked Q?

Thanks for reading - I'd appreciate any theories!

 

[enrico]

Sounds like an old queen cell. Probably duff.
E

 

[Mandeville]

So do you think they rebuilt the one that was opened after my last inspection? It seems so extraordinary that it's in the same place.

And the queen that emerged then?? Killed off by the older queen? Probably wouldn't have got mated in mid-September?

 

[Insy]

I had a charged queen cell today in 1 of my colonies, could well be a good one not a duff.

 

[mickbees23]

I bet there will be a dead worker inside the QC if you open it. But don't blame me if there isn't..LOL

 

[enrico]

I bet there will be a dead worker inside the QC if you open it. But don't blame me if there isn't..LOL

As above, but finding out is difficult!
E

 

[Mandeville]

The plot thickens!

Had a look today with the intention of removing the QC as I thought that you're all right and it would be duff.

But .... it has been opened, not torn down. And I thought I heard piping.

The old weedy Q was still around, being very well attended to.
No new brood or eggs that I could see.
2 open charged queen cups.
Small amount of closed brood on a couple of frames, including a handful of drone cells.

It's a medium sized colony, has plenty of stores.

I've just closed up and done nothing - mainly because I didn't know what to do!

 

[Finman]

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Bees may start to rear worker layed drone larva. That is usual.

Yes, what to do, if the hive do not have normal queen. What I do is, that I have spare queens and I give a new queen. Or I unite the bees to next door hive.

To buy a foreign mated queen is banned in this forum, but do it however.
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You may play with hive, and give a larva brood frame to the colony, that it has something to do.

Funniest thing is that you can rent a queen from another one week to the hive, and after a week retirn it home. You may loose the queen but at least it is funny to do it. I would not do that.
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