Queen Cups

[AndyTierling]

Are there any beekeepers in the Southampton\Winchester area with colonies with unwanted queen cups that you are willing to donate to me please?

I captured a swarm but 99% sure it is queen-less and I would like to give them a chance of surviving.

Thanks
Andy

 

[enrico]

Are there any beekeepers in the Southampton\Winchester area with colonies with unwanted queen cups that you are willing to donate to me please?

I captured a swarm but 99% sure it is queen-less and I would like to give them a chance of surviving.

Thanks
Andy

I think you mean queen charged queen cells. Queen less swarm? I would think it has a queen of some description. What makes you so certain it us queen less? Just interested not criticising!
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

Are there any beekeepers in the Southampton\Winchester area with colonies with unwanted queen cups that you are willing to donate to me please?

I captured a swarm but 99% sure it is queen-less and I would like to give them a chance of surviving.

Thanks
Andy

If they are indeed queen less ( it happens as sometimes swarms split up and bits don’t come together) they will likely return to where they came from.

 

[AndyTierling]

Yes Enrico

You are right about queen charge queen cells, sorry. In the process of getting back into beekeeping after a 10 year break because of a young family so I am a bit rusty.

It was a fairly small swarm and although they have built comb out no sign of any eggs and no sign of a queen. I will check regularly, I realise that if I had captured a virgin queen she may take some time to mate and start laying.

I just wanted to cover all bases.

Thanks Erichalfbee - I thought that might be the case but they seem quite quite settled into the hive right now.

Thanks for all your replies

A

 

[enrico]

No problem. I would suggest there is a virgin in there. Patience is the name of the game. A frame of eggs would suffice. They will make their own queen cells if there is no queen in there and won't if there is.
Do you know any other beekeeper locally. Most would give you a frame for eggs.
E

 

[AndyTierling]

Sorry for not replying, been a busy day.

A local beekeeper dropped off a closed up charged queen cell earlier today which is now in the hive.

Fingers crossed

 

[enrico]

Sorry for not replying, been a busy day.

A local beekeeper dropped off a closed up charged queen cell earlier today which is now in the hive.

Fingers crossed

So you may have a virgin already and a virgin in the cell! ......... Yep, fingers very crossed!
E