Queen cells

[Nick Lang]

... questions... questions... questions....I apologize in advance for being the new forum nuisance.

Background is....I'm a new bee keeper...got my first nuc (mid July) from a reputable company...installed into my national hive...they have filled the standard brood box and there are lots of brood and there are larvae....but I haven't seen the queen for the last two inspections.

I've just done a hive inspection and treated for varroa with aptiguard...I have also insulated the roof ready for the winter.

While I was in there I notice there are a lot of Queen cells....they are in the middle of some of the frames and on the outside of the frames too...there seem to be about 8 or so...one of the queen cells definitely has a larvae in it...I didn't check every queen cell...but some were definitely empty.

Do you think my queen died or absconded?.....and do you think the cells are to replace her???

What do you recommend I do to ensure the hive's survival??

Thank you so much....and sorry to be a pest

 

[Erichalfbee]

They sound like emergency cells to me so that means your queen was likely killed somehow.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’ll do a Finman here.
Order a new mated queen online tonight.
Go back and remove all the queen cells tomorrow, and put your new queen in as soon as she arrives.

 

[Nick Lang]

I’ll do a Finman here.
Order a new mated queen online tonight.
Go back and remove all the queen cells tomorrow, and put your new queen in as soon as she arrives.

Where is the best place to get a mated queen from???

 

[Erichalfbee]

The usual suspects. Maybe try BS honeybees and Black Mountain Honey have them but I’d try Cardigan Bay Honey first @mbc on the forum. I think the website has Ceri’s email rather than ordering in the website itself.

 

[Nick Lang]

Okay...thank you so much Eric.... that's really helpful of you...I will contact them in a mo.

Should I order clipped or unclipped?

 

[Erichalfbee]

That’s up to you. I don’t clip my queens.

 

[Nick Lang]

Cool....I won't either then....I've never clipped my chickens either

Will the queen arrive in a special container...for the other bees to chew through???...a cage is it???...do I need to order one or make sure she comes with one....or does she just go in loose???

 

[Erichalfbee]

She comes in a transport cage with a few bees for company. At one end you will see a fondant plug which is protected from the outside with either a cap or a removable tab.
Hang the cage between two frames of brood first making sure there are no queen cells you’ve missed.
Go back two days later and see what the bees outside are doing to the cage. If they are calm and trying to feed her remove the fondant protection and replace the cage. Leave them alone for a week.
You can pop back in a couple of days to just take the cage out if you want.
.

 

[Nick Lang]

Okies... that's the plan then

 

[drex]

Dani. What makes you think they are emergency cells rather than swarm cells? Personally I would not want to make such a pronouncement without seeing pictures of the actual cells

 

[Erichalfbee]

Dani. What makes you think they are emergency cells rather than swarm cells? Personally I would not want to make such a pronouncement without seeing pictures of the actual cells

While I was in there I notice there are a lot of Queen cells....they are in the middle of some of the frames and on the outside of the frames too..

Time of year and position.
Even if they are swarm cells the colony has a better chance of survival with a laying queen. Think about it. New queen emerges in ten days. Three weeks to be laying in the very best scenario. So we are at the beginning of October at very best.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Perhaps a photo might elucidate?
Quick picture tomorrow ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Time of year and position.
Even if they are swarm cells the colony has a better chance of survival with a laying queen. Think about it. New queen emerges in ten days. Three weeks to be laying in the very best scenario. So we are at the beginning of October at very best.

I wouldn't be hanging around hoping for the best at this time of year.

 

[Nick Lang]

I will take some pics tomorrow.

 

[Patrick1]

Whatever you find , you need a queen, if they haven’t killed her this time they will try again. Supersedure is still possible but verry risky, most of us don’t plan or wait for a supersedure Another month and you may not have the drones to support the queen. At best with a purchased queen you will have emerging brood in about four weeks, good luck.

 

[Murox]

wrong button sorry.

 

[Nick Lang]

Whatever you find , you need a queen, if they haven’t killed her this time they will try again. Supersedure is still possible but verry risky, most of us don’t plan or wait for a supersedure Another month and you may not have the drones to support the queen. At best with a purchased queen you will have emerging brood in about four weeks, good luck.

Absolutely....even without any bee experience...I was doing the numbers and figured the colony was doomed without out a fresh ready mated queen.

I have ordered a mated queen last night .. she's arriving Thursday (earliest I could get due to the lateness of the season and the Bank Holiday Weekend)...I'll get her in as soon as she arrives as per Erichalfbee's advice.

I will also take a bunch of pictures when I route out the queen cells this afternoon...just for interest.
Fingers crossed

 

[Patrick1]

Absolutely....even without any bee experience...I was doing the numbers and figured the colony was doomed without out a fresh ready mated queen.

I have ordered a mated queen last night .. she's arriving Thursday (earliest I could get due to the lateness of the season and the Bank Holiday Weekend)...I'll get her in as soon as she arrives as per Erichalfbee's advice.

I will also take a bunch of pictures when I route out the queen cells this afternoon...just for interest.
Fingers crossed

Verry important to do a good search for cells and queen or queens even, shake off every frame and destroy everything except a queen if you find one, put her in a cage and leave it until your new one arrives. The take her out wait 24 hours recheck every frame as before then introduce her in the cage, don’t forget to take the tab off the bottom.

 

[hemo]

All well seeing open and sealed brood but the important factor is did you see or look for eggs at all amongst the brood as this would indicate if QR or not ? Even a small patch of eggs would indicate QR and she may get back into the swing of things quite soon.
Possible might be QR and she has gone off lay with the treatment applied.
The thymol strong aroma may be masking her pheromones so one needs to be 100% sure before jumping in with a new queen who will be bumped off PDQ.

Maybe a second opinion from another trusty beek who can have a look ?