Antipodes
Queen Bee
I inspected a hive at an out apiary early September...I think...following our winter.
I noticed good numbers of bees but no brood. All other hives had stacks of brood.
I searched the colony for eggs and a queen but nothing. No signs of a laying worker.
I transferred some brood with eggs from an adjacent hive and checked it a few days later. No queen cells. I repeated a brood transfer. Still nothing...no new eggs or queen cells. I did it one final time and still nothing but found the queen on the last frame I put in. Photo attached ...they kept covering her up so I can't show you the egg that was stuck on the end of her abdomen...fully out however. The only eggs in the hive were on the last single frame I added Sunday but I don't know which queen laid them. They were on the bottom of the cells but noticeably to one side of the base.
I put the frame in early Sunday afternoon and inspected them today (Wednesday) at about 11am.
How old do the eggs on the photos look to anyone and how old does the queen look from what you can see of her?
How old do the remnants of the queen cell look?
Thanks
I noticed good numbers of bees but no brood. All other hives had stacks of brood.
I searched the colony for eggs and a queen but nothing. No signs of a laying worker.
I transferred some brood with eggs from an adjacent hive and checked it a few days later. No queen cells. I repeated a brood transfer. Still nothing...no new eggs or queen cells. I did it one final time and still nothing but found the queen on the last frame I put in. Photo attached ...they kept covering her up so I can't show you the egg that was stuck on the end of her abdomen...fully out however. The only eggs in the hive were on the last single frame I added Sunday but I don't know which queen laid them. They were on the bottom of the cells but noticeably to one side of the base.
I put the frame in early Sunday afternoon and inspected them today (Wednesday) at about 11am.
How old do the eggs on the photos look to anyone and how old does the queen look from what you can see of her?
How old do the remnants of the queen cell look?
Thanks