new queen, proven layer for 3 weeks, sudden drop off,

[openbrackets]

We did an artificial swarm 4 wks ago, have not marked the queen yet but brood at all stages/types seen, prolific until this week. Laying pattern scattered and v sparse no grubs/eggs seen, capped drone and worker brood sighted. Seemed to have space to lay in, but there is pollen on every frame. We are running brood and a half, with two supers for swarm control and to try to get the comb drawn out asap. This is our second summer beekeeping.

 

[oliver90owner]

I always start from the information given and subtract days.

4 weeks = 28days
Subtract, maybe 1 or 2 for open queen cell.
Subtract 8 days pupation,
Subtract say 10 days for maturing, mating and coming into lay.
Was prolific - I am wondering for how long.
No eggs or open brood seen this week, so laying ceased around 8 days ago?

Not a lot of time to be 'prolific', I would say. Certainly not for three weeks!

For me, if this continued, I would be considering re-uniting with the old queen.

As a matter of interest, what is the varroa loading? Are there any honey/nectar stores?

A big of a conundrum. What did you want help with?

 

[openbrackets]

pollen block?

Yes not a lot of time, but I was able to remove a full frame of capped brood to help out the original hive in the time since the split. I keep hearing abt pollen block, does any body know abt it?

She's obv still laying b/c there is capped brood, both drone and worker. I will give a small feed to encourage comb to be drawn in the super. Just wondering what pollen block looks like and what the solutions are... Probably rearranging/replacing the frames but how?

Yes, capped stores on most frames, loads of pollen, varroa count is less than 5/day. Suppose I should have said artificial swarm four wks ago

 

[oliver90owner]

Suppose I should have said artificial swarm four wks ago

You did! That is what does not ring true! Simply not time for pupation, mating, laying prolifically for three weeks and nothing for the last week. Simply does not add up. Draw a time line.

 

[openbrackets]

Suppose I should have said artificial swarm four wks ago

You did! That is what does not ring true! Simply not time for pupation, mating, laying prolifically for three weeks and nothing for the last week. Simply does not add up. Draw a time line.

Woah hold up, just the facts sir. She was laying normally, now she ain't. Somebody was laying in that box and it weren't me. Someone is ✴still✴ laying in there, and it still ain't me. So I take it you can't guide me any on pollen block...

 

[madasafish]

Yes not a lot of time, but I was able to remove a full frame of capped brood to help out the original hive in the time since the split. ...

She's obv still laying b/c there is capped brood, both drone and worker

No she is NOT obviously laying as capped brood is from eggs two weeks ago - or longer..

If you have not many eggs, you have a duff queen..

 

[oliver90owner]

I'll leave it to someone else.

I'm no good at sorting enigmas where the pieces clearly don't fit. Too much guesswork involved, which changes a simple subject like beekeeping into some mystic art.

 

[isc26]

..

 

[openbrackets]

Listen to me. Two wks ago, brood at all stages. Yesterday scattered capped brood. Can't think of what needs abuse there, like. Yes, I am aware there are other forums.

 

[Dan Job]

..... So I take it you can't guide me any on pollen block...

A quick search of the forum brought up a thread on pollen block post 16322 sorry can't post a link have limited number of posts.

I'm only new to beekeeping so don't have first hand experience, but it sounds like if the bees are filling all the space in the brood chamber as workers vacate their cells then you have pollen block.

Something else that puzzles me...

"but I was able to remove a full frame of capped brood to help out the original hive in the time since the split."

if you removed capped brood at week 2 say. wouldn't this have been from eggs which were laid by original queen and reared by young bees before new queen had come in to lay??

 

[Madge]

At what stage of the queen cell's development did you split the hive? Was it a day or two before she emerged? Are you quite sure you saw eggs two weeks ago?

 

[openbrackets]

Listen to me. Two wks ago, brood at all stages. Yesterday scattered capped brood. Can't think of what needs abuse there, like. Yes, I am aware there are other forums. Didn't see rest of thread.

We did the a/s b/c inspection revealed 9 charged (capped) QC and 1 uncapped. We did the simplest thing we have been taught, removed the old queen (2013, red marked) to a new box, with stores and bees. It was lucky b/c it was at the beginning of that long hot spell we had in May. Left everything alone for a week, then switched positions back to original to attempt to balance numbers in both boxes. Inspected, still brood at all stages and frames of capped brood. Had a cast swarm from original box in mean time. Old box revealed two QC one wk later, removed and took one of the frames of brood to put in with her as there was not alot of drawn comb. Bees not checked again til yesterday. No attempts to swarm, no QC, box full of bees, not swarming. Sparse odd pattern of drone n worker cells. New queen cld have taken off w/ cast, but we gave them to another new been and they are not queenright yet.

 

[openbrackets]

erm cld be... I am the one taking the lead on this, our other beeks hanging back so as not to get jumped for being stupid (hmmm, wonder why?) So I don't really have any one to bounce stuff off of... It' s all quite competitive around here, quite prematurely, IMHO. Cld be that the brood were from the orig queen... :-\ if so, why are they not trying to get off or requeen?

 

[openbrackets]

At what stage of the queen cell's development did you split the hive? Was it a day or two before she emerged? Are you quite sure you saw eggs two weeks ago?

Hi, that's a bit beyond me, all's I know is I saw 9 charged/capped queen cells and flipped out. Had to leave to pick up my 3yo from nursery, so did not observe all of swarm control. They culled most of the QC, I think down to one. The saw lots of the teeniest grubs I have ever seen, can't that be enuff??? haha

 

[beeno]

Hi openbrackets,
In an attempt to try to help, sorry if I am wrong, I interpreted that it is your A/Sed red marked queen that has been laying well for the passed three weeks that you are concerned about. As you say yourself, she has not got a lot of space to lay in due to lack of drawn frames and can therefore only lay in vacated cells as quickly as the bees turn them around causing the brood pattern which you have observed. You need to create room for her to lay in the short term i.e. clear or extract a couple of brood frames of honey stores. When did you see her last as it is very difficult to see if a colony has swarmed because of all the emerging brood? Thirty percent of all A/S queens swarm again! Best of luck.

 

[Tdf]

Just give that hive with no eggs a frame with eggs from another hive and see do they build q cells. If they don't have a good look through for non laying queen and kill then unite or give new cell. If you can't find a queen wait until all brood hatched and shake out all bees from hive.

 

[madasafish]

Having re-read the thread in an attempt to try to help, I am confused now as to which hive is which...

 

[BeeJayBee]

We are running brood and a half, with two supers for swarm control and to try to get the comb drawn out asap. This is our second summer beekeeping.

Is that the current setup?

Two wks ago, brood at all stages. Yesterday scattered capped brood

The scattered capped brood is probably what's left from what was seen two weeks ago.

Hi, that's a bit beyond me, all's I know is I saw 9 charged/capped queen cells and flipped out. Had to leave to pick up my 3yo from nursery, so did not observe all of swarm control. They culled most of the QC, I think down to one. The saw lots of the teeniest grubs I have ever seen, can't that be enuff??? haha

I think this may be the root of your problem - other people have done something but you don't know what it is, which means that we don't know what's going on either.

Out of interest, what hive records do you have?

 

[openbrackets]

Wish there was a like button, I get replies mixed up w/o one. I am the only one keeping records, well spotted. I bought an app, but we have paper ones handy...So, it's clear we're newbies, how's this for a blunder.... I have taken out the queen excluder today in hopes that she was trapped. This bothers for two reasons, 1. I'd rather run one brood box 2. I don't think it's possible she was trapped after all (we switched the half brood super under the brood box two wks ago.

There are two hives. Both Finnish polyhive Bee Boxes. (I do not want to stick w/these, want to go poly bs national, but I digress) Red queen 2013 is queenright b/c I put a full frame of brood from the new colony into her box. So done deal. For purposes here, that's box #1.

Box #2 : sounds like I was previous in my eager hopes that the glorious weather the week of artificial swarm and the teensy grubs observed upon insp were enuff indicators of queenright status.


They are happy to stay put for the moment, our bee friend says wait til Weds. & check again, that sounds right, right? Could the capped brood we saw be dead brood not tidied up yet?

 

[openbrackets]

excuse redundant post