newly mated q question

[Cuckmere couple]

virgin queen emerged and was first seen on 23/7 (QC was capped around 5/7) but no eggs

saw a couple of clouds of bee activity subsequent to this and hoping it was returning mating flights checked today

q was there and laying, 3 frames with eggs

however

2 Q cups with eggs and I spersedure looking cell (in middle of frame) with egg and royal jelly

I knocked them down and marked q

suggestions?

 

[Bakerbee]

I had this earlier in the year. Im not telling you what to do as a beginner myself, just what i did. I knocked them all back ( i also had 2 cups one charged cell) and had no more problems. Good luck.

 

[B+.]

suggestions?

Seeing eggs is not proof of mating (they could be drones). However, in periods of good weather, it often is good enough although I prefer to wait and see sealed worker brood.
They will often make queen cells following a period of queenlessness (or, more precisely, broodlessness). This is them worrying about whether this new queen is alright and making contingency plans just incase. They will usually be torn down but, if you're sure you have a mated queen, you can just flatten the cell and, if everything is ok, they'll stop when they realise they are out of the woods.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

ok thanks all

im pretty certain this is a mated q now

it has been q- for a while but these are all single eggs and in a nice pattern and the q is definately active on those same frames

ive knocked them down and will wait

 

[Millet]

The queen can still lay if not mated but if she does it is too late as she will be a drone layer and lay single eggs like any other Queen..like B+ said you need to see capped worker brood that way you 100% know you have a mated Queen.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You can tell drone brood before it’s capped if you look carefully. The bees raise the height of the cell walls well before they are sealed

 

[Cuckmere couple]

ok, thanks again

ill keep a watching brief but my instinct says its the broodless period that has led them to hedge their bets

 

[Millet]

ok, thanks again

ill keep a watching brief but my instinct says its the broodless period that has led them to hedge their bets

Good luck..this waiting game does my stress levels no favours..my Great Nan taught me how to knit when i was younger and that could be a less stressful hobby to me...however if i took my knitted jumpers and scarfs to work to show everyone i might get some funny look's or sacked or flung from a great height.. ..Scaffolder by the way..

 

[Cuckmere couple]

so folk

this queen is newly mated and since first eggs spotted on 29th of july now has 5 frames of decent brood

BUT

i have now seen charged q cups 3 times

29/7 when i first saw eggs there were 3 Q cups with eggs and 1 with royal jelly
4/8 there were 2 q cups with eggs
9/8 today 3-4 charged q cells

each time ive knocked them down, not sure what to do

they have space, queen is new and looks fine, old queen from same colony is in separate bb with 5 frames of bia

tempted to move new q into a nuc with a couple of frames of bia just to see and reunite the original queen? original queen was moved because of swarm cells on 30/6

 

[Swarm]

So you removed the old queen to a nuc when you found cells, that doesn't necessarily suppress the swarming instinct, just delays it. Far better to be preemptive and do the procedure before they decide upon swarming.

 

[Erichalfbee]

So you removed the old queen to a nuc when you found cells, that doesn't necessarily suppress the swarming instinct, just delays it. Far better to be preemptive and do the procedure before they decide upon swarming.

This year I nuc’d all my queens as my sole swarm management. It worked perfectly well. All gave me a surplus. I don’t know why I haven’t done this before. Oh, I did a Demaree on one.

 

[Erichalfbee]

so folk

this queen is newly mated and since first eggs spotted on 29th of july now has 5 frames of decent brood

BUT

i have now seen charged q cups 3 times

29/7 when i first saw eggs there were 3 Q cups with eggs and 1 with royal jelly
4/8 there were 2 q cups with eggs
9/8 today 3-4 charged q cells

each time ive knocked them down, not sure what to do

they have space, queen is new and looks fine, old queen from same colony is in separate bb with 5 frames of bia

tempted to move new q into a nuc with a couple of frames of bia just to see and reunite the original queen? original queen was moved because of swarm cells on 30/6

I might be tempted to make a nuc with two frames of brood and a whole super of bees shaken in (wasps about) and put the queen there. Let the big hive nearly raise a queen paying particular attention to managing the queen cells properly to just the one. Remove the QC two days before emergence and re unite the queen. Any body here think that’s a really daft idea?

 

[Walrus]

This year I nuc’d all my queens as my sole swarm management. It worked perfectly well. All gave me a surplus. I don’t know why I haven’t done this before.

Dani, did you take queens away and destroy all QCs, repeat a few days later, then return queens when hopelessly Q-? Or leave them one open QC and let them make a new one? Or something else? Thanks!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Dani, did you take queens away and destroy all QCs, repeat a few days later, then return queens when hopelessly Q-? Or leave them one open QC and let them make a new one? Or something else? Thanks!

All my queens are quite prolific so I let them get on with making a new queen
It didn’t quite go to plan though as bad mating weather descended and I ended up with a drone layer and a queen that didn’t make it back so I bought a couple of new queens in. One went perfectly. I got three supers off the old queen and seven off the one that made itself a new queen

 

[Cuckmere couple]

i left my colony q- and they raised this queen which is now laying

its in this colony that i have found a few q cells

not sure if theyre supersedure or not although 3-5 seems too many

 

[Swarm]

Not unusual for them to bring on a new queen and then resume swarm preparations.