Queen cells....what to do?

[Loubylou]

Just inspected one of my hives today to find 4 capped queen cells. aaaagh!! I last inspected about 7 days ago (whilst treating with Apiguard) and found a few uncapped q cells and presumed they were just play cups. This hive has a very new q in it and she is just coming into lay with hardly any eggs to see yet.

So last week I was full of hope for this colony now I am flummoxed and not sure what to do now as it is so late in the season. There must be something wrong with her if they are making new qc's. Please, any advice......

 

[mbc]

Check the new brood and asses whether it is the product of fertilised eggs ie. becoming normal brood, my suspicion is not from your description, this will be confirmed if the new brood is not very evenly sealed/ domed cappings/ill looking, if so they are trying to supercede the new queen but with duff larvae. If this is the case (hope not!) find the queen and kill her, take down the cells and introduce a mated queen asap would be my advice.

 

[pargyle]

You have two threads the same running here .... see:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=26296

 

[mbc]

You have two threads the same running here .... see:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=26296

Just checked the other thread and smugly thought to myself what a load of pwp o90o's reply is compared to mine

 

[pargyle]

Just checked the other thread and smugly thought to myself what a load of pwp o90o's reply is compared to mine

I think RAB's a bit cranky tonight ... he's got another couple of one liners under his belt ! At least you offered some advice rather than a think it out yourself comment .... Tough love is OK sometimes but when you sense the desperation in a post it's time to wade in with an 'I would ...' comment.

 

[oliver90owner]

Need some facts, not just guess as to what to do.

Yes, she could be laying all drones. We were not told of any time scale for the queen laying? Suggesting the OP does not recognise drone cells? Could be right but might not be.

We are expected to know the queen is still there (another presumption)?

Mbc might feel smug but all he suggested was it might be drone brood and needed a new queen.

With five hives and this one a small failing colony the OP needs to make the decision as to whether it is worth the bother of waiting for supercedure to run its coures (if worker brood), worth the cost of attempting to save a rubbish colony at this time ofvthe year, or simply bite the bullet and unite what is left. I can't see it, everyone is guessing from some 'approximate' information which may not even be complete.

OP needs to make their mind up or supply some decent data. A concensus decision would have been even more rubbish if mbc is right.

 

[pargyle]

Need some facts, not just guess as to what to do.

Yes, she could be laying all drones. We were not told of any time scale for the queen laying? Suggesting the OP does not recognise drone cells? Could be right but might not be.

We are expected to know the queen is still there (another presumption)?

Mbc might feel smug but all he suggested was it might be drone brood and needed a new queen.

With five hives and this one a small failing colony the OP needs to make the decision as to whether it is worth the bother of waiting for supercedure to run its coures (if worker brood), worth the cost of attempting to save a rubbish colony at this time ofvthe year, or simply bite the bullet and unite what is left. I can't see it, everyone is guessing from some 'approximate' information which may not even be complete.

OP needs to make their mind up or supply some decent data. A concensus decision would have been even more rubbish if mbc is right.

You are , of course, right ... one of the failings on the forum (and sometimes a great time waste) is when OP's don't provide enough information about the situation in the first place ... then half way through the thread a little gem comes to light (often after prompting) and the situation becomes much clearer.

 

[mbc]

Need some facts, not just guess as to what to do.

So, this : "This hive has a very new q in it and she is just coming into lay with hardly any eggs to see yet. "
and " 4 capped queen cells" isnt enough to guess whats going on ?!
This forum would be great if all we ever did was ask for more information before hazarding some advice, or would it ?