New Queen arriving - not sure where to put her

[BernardBlack]

Due to my hive not showing any signs of Chalk Brood reduction, I have a New mated Queen arriving within the week.

Current Queen is laying brilliantly (except for the obvious Chalk Brood problem), and I’m assuming the bees are happy with her, as I’ve not had any Queen Cells all season.

My plan was to put current Queen into a Nuc box (as back up), and introduce the new Queen to the hive.

Now I’m wondering, since it’s getting late in the season, would I be better putting the new Queen into the Nuc for the winter... and leaving the current Queen in the hive until the Spring?

 

[drex]

I would put new queen in the hive. I assume you bought her, so is valuable. This will give her the best chance of surviving and building a strong colony to go into winter. I would put other queen into a small nuc

 

[Murox]

I would put new queen in the hive. I assume you bought her, so is valuable. This will give her the best chance of surviving and building a strong colony to go into winter. I would put other queen into a small nuc

thats what I would do as well and feed that nuc.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

do you really want to keep a queen with such a serious chalkbrood problem, that you think requires replacing?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I would dispatch the old queen

 

[BernardBlack]

do you really want to keep a queen with such a serious chalkbrood problem, that you think requires replacing?

I would dispatch the old queen

Well, I thought I’d hang onto the current Queen, in case something goes wrong with the introduction of the new Queen.

She obviously has a genetic weakness re: the chalk Brood, but she’s a terrific layer, and thought she would be useful as back up. And as I say, the colony must be happy enough with her, as they never made any Q cells this year.

 

[drex]

I would keep her, just for the insurance. She can always be squished if CB is bad again next year, as I do find the weather makes a difference. Spring here was very wet

 

[Swarm]

Hold on to her.

 

[BernardBlack]

I would keep her, just for the insurance. She can always be squished if CB is bad again next year, as I do find the weather makes a difference. Spring here was very wet

I thought maybe weather in spring was a factor with the chalk brood (stress too), but as the year progressed, the number of chalk brood never seemed to reduce.

So, although she is a good layer, she obviously has that weakness in her.

 

[Speybee]

I thought maybe weather in spring was a factor with the chalk brood (stress too), but as the year progressed, the number of chalk brood never seemed to reduce.

So, although she is a good layer, she obviously has that weakness in her.

My swarmy hive, which has given me a great deal of head scratching this summer is a case in point.
As a drone laying queen she was already giving me grief, but the final nail on the head for her, was the appearance of a wee amount of chalk brood.

I dobbed her in and the reduced amount of bees remaining I shook out ( they turned out to be robbers) and swarmy hive now slightly torched around the innards and ALL comb taken out and thrown out.

I don’t have any niggles about, dispatching a queen if I think I may be transferring chalkbrood to my other hives in the same apiary, despite having lost a colony to being swarmed out with little remaining

 

[beeno]

I would make up a nuc with fresh drawn combs from a colony with no chalk brood. Put the caged new Queen in it and place in original place. Kill the chalkbrood queen and shake out the other bees in front of it. The existing frames contain chalk brood spores which can be fumigated with acetic acid, which needs protective clothing, but I would personally burn them. If your colony has had heavy chalk brood they will presumably fit into nuc by now.

 

[Murox]

Well, I thought I’d hang onto the current Queen, in case something goes wrong with the introduction of the new Queen.

She obviously has a genetic weakness re: the chalk Brood, but she’s a terrific layer, and thought she would be useful as back up. And as I say, the colony must be happy enough with her, as they never made any Q cells this year.

I thought maybe weather in spring was a factor with the chalk brood (stress too), but as the year progressed, the number of chalk brood never seemed to reduce.

So, although she is a good layer, she obviously has that weakness in her.

With that information - my view is why keep her ? Re-queen.

 

[BernardBlack]

I would make up a nuc with fresh drawn combs from a colony with no chalk brood. Put the caged new Queen in it and place in original place. Kill the chalkbrood queen and shake out the other bees in front of it. The existing frames contain chalk brood spores which can be fumigated with acetic acid, which needs protective clothing, but I would personally burn them. If your colony has had heavy chalk brood they will presumably fit into nuc by now.

The numbers of bees fill out a Brood box at present, so they’d probably be too big for a Nuc.

I hear what you’re saying though. Gives me something to think about.

Might the actual chalk Brood problem be the frames in the hive, and not the Queen?

 

[beeno]

The numbers of bees fill out a Brood box at present, so they’d probably be too big for a Nuc.

I hear what you’re saying though. Gives me something to think about.

Might the actual chalk Brood problem be the frames in the hive, and not the Queen?

Both as it thought that some queens are genetically prone to chalk brood. I shook swarmed a colony due to chalk brood, but did not kill the queen and it just came back.