No eggs will workers not always lay

[tom8400]

Hi all got a problematic hive, I checked a couple of months back to find no signs of brood or eggs I wondered what was going on as I couldn't find the queen I'd seen her the previous inspection. She was a nuc from early in year bought queen.

Fast forward and I assumed brood break as lots of bees and the hive had boomed, I had already added a frame in the super (no q/e) with eggs and lava to see if they'd draw a q/c the next time I got chance to check no sign of anything no q/c no nothing, ok must be brood break and they turfed the rest out I thought. Since then I have made inspections to locate queen can't find her anywhere... hive is still packed I fed with syrup and they have filled up but there are polished cells in the bottom.

So today I checked again and still no sign of her she is marked so should be easy to spot, now I'd have thought the workers should be laying by now if queenless? But should she not have started again by now if she's there? My only conclusion is they removed the marking and I'm not seeing her as I'm looking for a marked queen.

I'm now lost as to a course of action here so any ideas would be appreciated, I have a weak nuc I made that has a queen I can introduce or take some bees from strong hive to add to it as it's the split nuc box

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi all got a problematic hive, I checked a couple of months back to find no signs of brood or eggs I wondered what was going on as I couldn't find the queen I'd seen her the previous inspection. She was a nuc from early in year bought queen.

Fast forward and I assumed brood break as lots of bees and the hive had boomed, I had already added a frame in the super (no q/e) with eggs and lava to see if they'd draw a q/c the next time I got chance to check no sign of anything no q/c no nothing, ok must be brood break and they turfed the rest out I thought. Since then I have made inspections to locate queen can't find her anywhere... hive is still packed I fed with syrup and they have filled up but there are polished cells in the bottom.

So today I checked again and still no sign of her she is marked so should be easy to spot, now I'd have thought the workers should be laying by now if queenless? But should she not have started again by now if she's there? My only conclusion is they removed the marking and I'm not seeing her as I'm looking for a marked queen.

I'm now lost as to a course of action here so any ideas would be appreciated, I have a weak nuc I made that has a queen I can introduce or take some bees from strong hive to add to it as it's the split nuc box

I think there's a queen in there somewhere - they might have superseded but ended up with a duff queen - in that case, you don't always get laying workers. You need to find that queen before uniting . either sieve the bees to find that queen or just give it up as a bad job and shake the whole lot out

 

[tom8400]

Well after lots of messing about knowing it's a goner last weekend workers had attempted q/c without eggs this was a prolific buckfast from a big supplier...

Another nuc that was destined to fail had a queen but by the time I'd realised and planned to place her in the bigger hive she was also gone wasps must have got her.

Oh well treat them like livestock and that's life.


So moving forward shaking them out I did this with the weak nuc and they just cluster where there box was would they go by the evening?

I am then left with the big queenless colony which I will need to do the same but I may use their frames too feed another, it seems to be a pig of a year to get the feeding right they're busy and bringing feed in now. Hives that were heavy and busy are now the lighter ones that I may top up with honey in a feeder or fondant

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well after lots of messing about knowing it's a goner last weekend workers had attempted q/c without eggs this was a prolific buckfast from a big supplier...

Another nuc that was destined to fail had a queen but by the time I'd realised and planned to place her in the bigger hive she was also gone wasps must have got her.

Oh well treat them like livestock and that's life.


So moving forward shaking them out I did this with the weak nuc and they just cluster where there box was would they go by the evening?

I am then left with the big queenless colony which I will need to do the same but I may use their frames too feed another, it seems to be a pig of a year to get the feeding right they're busy and bringing feed in now. Hives that were heavy and busy are now the lighter ones that I may top up with honey in a feeder or fondant

The weather will get the huddled bees
Don’t shake the others out. Unite them with another colony

 

[Swarm]

I generally find them settled in a new home before I leave the apiary, about half an hour or so. Are they flying?