Nuc swarm control/entrance block questions

[tonel]

Suspect I may have jumped the gun here but here goes..

Noted quite a few more queen cups in my hive (single National BB with 1 super above QE) on last inspection, some containing eggs. Found the queen this time so transferred her on her frame to a nuc. Nuc contains 2 brood frames, 1 food frame, some foundation and a couple of frames of bees shaken in.

I know that emergency cells are created from young worker larvae but in this situation would they possibly try to develop the queen cups containing eggs too? As I said maybe I was too hasty and should have waited till charged QCs appeared..

The existing now queenless hive also has an entrance block in (slot is 7mm high I think)..would this impede/cause access problems for drones and the queen on a mating flight? Not sure if I should remove it or not (floor is OMF).

Any advice gratefully received

 

[Finman]

.
Even if your queen is in safe, you should cut the swarming fever from the hive.

Make an AS. Put foundation hive to the old site and move those nuc frames with queen into the foundation hive. Move old hive 10 feet aside.

Half of bees will move by itself to the foundation hive and they start to draw combs. And the queen continues strong laying. That is important in succesfull swarming preventing.
Then take care that after swarm does not escape from brood hive.

Eggs in queen cups is a sign of swarming. You noticed it in right time.

 

[enrico]

I would have waited for charged queen cells, that way you are more sure of what is happening! But, as you have done it, stick with it! Entrance block no problem either way!
E

 

[tonel]

Thanks for the advice..weather forecast is decent for tomorrow evening so going to do the AS and transfer nuc into a new brood box. Good to know the entrance block shouldn't be a problem too

 

[Midland Beek]

As I said maybe I was too hasty and should have waited till charged QCs appeared..

Queens are not clever and they do not think - they lay eggs in whatever cells they come across, be they drone cells, worker cells or queen cell cups. If the workers want new queens or new drones or new workers they will allow the eggs to develop into larvae and then feed the larvae. If they don't want new drones/queens/workers they will destroy the eggs. So 'yes', always wait until you have proper queen cells, because had you have looked in your hive a day later the eggs in those queen cell cups might have vanished.

The workers in the queenless part of your split will raise emergency queens on larvae not older than three days rather than on those 'queen cells that aren't really queen cells'.

Nice pickle you got yourself into ...