Not perfect... but is this good enough (Queen Cells, etc)

[jd101k2000]

I'm just coming up to my first anniversary of having bees.
Last Monday (21 April) I opened up one of my hives. This was on national brood and a half + 2 supers. The girls have been really busy. Grew them up from an over-wintered nucleus that I received last June. They are on about 12 frames BIAS.

About 20 play cups. Definitely none charged. Certainly none in the obvious places. Mostly along the bottom of the brood frames (which was on top of the half). In other words, they were playing by the 'rules'.

Opened them up yesterday, 27 April. 6 sealed queen cells + others that were charged + some play cups. The sealed queen cells were in obvious positions (not hidden down the side), so I would not have missed them.

Weather was not fantastic, so I am fairly sure that the queen was still there.

The queen is not marked and despite best efforts I could not find here. I think I have only ever seen her once. She lays lots of eggs, so I generally let her get on with it.

So, I made up 2 nuclei. In each I put a brood frame with a single, sealed queen cell, another frame of brood with no queen cells and a frame of food + 3 frames of foundation. Scoured them all for the queen did not see her.

At the old hive, I took out the 'half'. Any brood frames (4) went into the main brood box to replace the gaps. Any food frames were shaken free of bees and put in the supers. (There was already some drawn foundation in the supers and they had begun filling up.) Destroyed any charged or sealed queen cells.

Checked today through the transparent cover sheet - each of the nuclei are covering two frames well and partly covering the food frame.

In the old hive (through the transparent quilt) the top super was stuffed with bees. So I put on a super full of foundation. (Config is now brood, QX, three supers.)

My thoughts are that if the queen is in the main hive, I may have suppressed the swarming urge with the rearrangement.

I will check on Wednesday (30 April) to spot the start of any queen cells. I will also check 2 nukes and main hive for eggs - to locate the queen. If the queen is in a nuke box, destroy the corresponding queen cell and call it an artificial swarm.

If the queen is in the hive, see if they continue in swarming mode. If yes, find queen (laughs) and introduce her to a nuke (and destroy QC). If no, rub hands and hope for honey.

Please comment, criticise, come up with a better solution. (Or, if it sounds OK you can say that, too.)

 

[jd101k2000]

Turns out that the bee inspector is coming tomorrow. He should be able to advise.

 

[Pendragon]

Marvellous timing!

 

[jd101k2000]

Well the bee inspector has been and helped me spot the queen (still in the original hive - spotted eggs first). I marked her up.

There were more queen cells. One beautiful, soon to be sealed and 2 sealed ones. (Yes, I was lucky that queeny was still there.) The sealed cells went off to a new, empty hive. Had to squish the other. Shook loads of bees onto them with a few frames of brood and food. Have now run out of spare equipment and the other colony has started to make queen cups... but there is an auction on Saturday.

The two nuclei are a bit depleted of bees, so will shake some more nurses onto them and think about feeding. The QC in one of them looks on the verge of hatching.

Have gone from two colonies to potentially 5 in a few days. Fortunately had upped insurance.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

but there is an auction on Saturday.

And one the weekend after - might see you there!

 

[jd101k2000]

I'm guessing you will be sporting a tan and looking relaxed.

Just wondering whether to permanently expand, or look to getting the nukes built up with a view to passing them on. (Of course, I am counting my queens before they have hatched.)

Happy bidding!