Nuc with no Queen

[MrDBee]

Hi,

I am in my 2nd yr and have gone from 1 to 2 hives. I have bought a Nuc and transferred it to the hive 7 days ago. At the time of transfer I did not inspect the innards of the Nuc but put them straight in the hive. The Queen cage was open with no queen in.

I opened the hive today to find no Queen, 2 Q cells and 3 Queen Cups. I have contacted the supplier of the Nuc who has agreed to send a replacement Queen.

My thoughts are to remove all Queen Cells / cups and install the new queen as soon as it arrives having taken out its attendants.

Does anyone have any advice.

Thx in advance.

DB

 

[Midland Beek]

Do not let them get a queen of their own in the meantime. Destroy anything looking like a queen cell.

And are you sure there is no queen? Any eggs? Remember that an egg is an egg for three days.

 

[MrDBee]

Hi,

Thx for reply. Definitely no Queen, and no eggs. There were a small number of larvae, looking about ready to be sealed. (fat & plump) I have removed all Queen Cells / Cups this morning and the new Queen has just arrived in her cage. If the weather breaks I'll put her in the hive tomorrow.

Thx again.

DB

 

[biggles]

Sounds to me like you didn't buy a nuc

It might be worth reading this thread http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11485

 

[oliver90owner]

Sounds to me like you didn't buy a nuc



Certainly not a 'good' one. That queen was really well proven (by the evidence of a queen cage present)!! looks more like 'guaranteed that none of the brood is the progeny of the queen'.

Does anyone have any advice.

Ask the supplier for detailed introduction instructions and tell them you will follow those instructions to the letter. They could reject the next queen, too. Some strains are like that.

RAB

 

[biggles]

It does look like, more and more people are selling package bees with a few frames as a nuc.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

If the nuc was made up with frames from one hive and a queen dropped in in a cage, then slapped wrist for the supplier.

 

[Midland Beek]

If the nuc was checked after the introduction of the queen in her cage you would have expected the operative to have at least removed the cage.

 

[beestie]

It does look like, more and more people are selling package bees with a few frames as a nuc.

I think I've just had one too... 5 frames of very varied quality brood and almost no capped stores, frames propolised in the temporary nuc, empty queen cage (luckily found the queen on frames when I de-camped them into a hive on Saturday), squashed bees all around the top of the nuc, plenty of dead bees in the bottom. Comb darker than I would expect for 'first time' use, and empty queen caps too.
I ordered them in October last year, looks like the suppliers are desperate to get the orders out as quickly as possible at the moment...looking forward to first proper inspection this weekend.
I suspect bees and queen have been hastily thrown into the nuc with some frames and sealed shut for quick (but delayed) dispatch (someone else's name on nuc as well).
I know, I'm not a commercial beekeeper and don't have to rely on it for a living, but for the price I paid I was hoping for something a little better...

 

[MrDBee]

I've found out in a roundabout way that this should have been described as a package, not a Nuc. As you say the bees were not the offspring of the Queen that came with it originally.

It also came with a Apistan strip in the middle of the frames. When I did the first inspection 7 days after moving to hive, (and found no Queen) I also checked the inspection tray & counted 75 Varroa mites. There were also a considerable number visible on the bees on the frames. Let's just say I shan't be using or recommending the supplier again.

I've had a Nuc, in the true sense, from a member of NFBKA which was twice the size in terms of Bees & Brood and not a Varroa mite in sight. They hit the ground running, and got off to a flying start.

Anyway, I'm where I am and trying to make the best of the situation having learnt much in the process. Let's just hope they accept the Queen eh!

 

[oliver90owner]

this should have been described as a package, not a Nuc

Nope. A package of bees comes as bees only, no frames.
You start them off by adding the bees to your frames and releasing the caged queen. You must feed, particularly if installing on foundation, as they have no stores back-up.

A nuc comes on frames as a small, but well balanced, self-sufficient colony with stores of pollen and honey (enough for a couple of weeks?) - so may not need feeding - along with the laying queen and (preferably) her own brood with at least some of the workers being her daughters. Sadly this is often not the case, with nucs thrown together and despached almost immediately by some. These are the 'cowboy suppliers' IMO.

Regards, RAB

 

[DanBee]

Pictures to help differentiate:

A package of bees is a ventilated container with bees & caged queen, no frames, little difference between it and a swarm in a box:

Nucleus colony has 3-6 frames with bees, brood, and stores, and is a viable small colony:

 

[MrDBee]

Perhaps we should start a new term 'A Nukeage'!

I found out from the spplier the Queen that came with the original "Bees + Frames" was delivered to the supplier 5 days before it arrived on frames with me.

DB

 

[biggles]

Perhaps we should start a new term 'A Nukeage'!

I found out from the spplier the Queen that came with the original "Bees + Frames" was delivered to the supplier 5 days before it arrived on frames with me.

DB

Love the new term Nukeage I can make up as many Nukeages as people want for £150