Queen above excluder !

[Cars]

Opened up one of my hives that is amid the OSR to find very little capped brood, a few capped queen cells and plenty of bees in the brood box. As I then started going through the supers (2) I found eggs, larvea and the queen in the bottom one !!!!

I have destroyed the queen cells and relocated the queen back to where she should bee and put it all back together.

I am a bit mystified how she got up there, two of us undertook the last inspection 9 days ago, and she was seen and clearly in the brood box.

Do queens get through the excluders ? its a metal one

Are there any issues with now having brood in a super ?

Is there anything else that I should have when moving her ?

As ever, any comments would be much appreciated.

 

[enrico]

Yes they can sometimes slip through QE. Check that is ok, sometimes the wires on wire ones can getushed apart when handling or in transport. No problems with anything else IMO
E

 

[Cars]

Thanks, its a sheet metal excluder, all the holes appeared to be OK.

 

[Silly Bee]

Queens can get through if they are small, or the excluder is to big or damaged.

The brood in the super will be ok, they will hatch and leave, or the nurse bees will kick them out if they die.
How many brood in the super, is it worth making space below and putting them where they ought to be?

 

[AMAE]

Sounds to me like they want to do the swarmy thing.....the queen is put on a crash diet so that she can fly...hence she can slip through the queen excluder.

You might well have slowed them down, but you may want to be prepared to A/S next visit

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Than ones do occasionally get through.
How much space do you have in the supers btw? With OSR you may need more room?

 

[Cars]

Thanks all, there is plenty of space in the supers, apart from brood they are pretty empty. Am all geared up to A/S and have an empty hive already set up next to it. I was hoping to keep them all together until they had had a good fill of the OSR, but may not be able to wait that long - I'll keep a very close eye on it

 

[Silly Bee]

The brood.

are they workers or drone?

if they are small drone you might have a laying worker.

 

[the beehive lodge]

Could it be the Q was slimmed down to swarm that why she has got through EQ
put them on a brood and the super = brood and a half save the worry