Queen not laying

[BernardBlack]

"Parent colony, as in the other hive created from the AS?" Yes, that's right. Can't remember your time line, but has this colony got a laying queen now?

In the AS part did she produce any brood to speak off after the AS? If she did not then all you have got there is a bunch of old foragers and it is not worth spending money on a new queen for them especially at this time of the year.

She has produced some brood, but none the past 4/5 days.

The original hive left with the QC, she has emerged but not laying yet.

 

[BernardBlack]

This time of year I would guess most colonies have started kicking drones out by now. If you have drone mixed in with the worker brood (not just bits around the frame bottom or edges) I’d mark up a frame with fresh eggs and check again in 9 days, capped worker or drone? If all drone I’d suspect DLQ. But at this stage difficult to say

Drone brood were around the edge of the brood nest. But now they're popping up within the brood nest.

 

[beeno]

She has produced some brood, but none the past 4/5 days.

The original hive left with the QC, she has emerged but not laying yet.

How many days since emergence?

 

[Beefriendly]

But now they're popping up within the brood nest.

With this happening at this time of year I would suspect she is going drone. Running out of sperm.
My thoughts are killing her and unite with your other colony and hope that queen starts laying....at least you know there are drones around
Or Stick her in a small Nuc and unite rest of bees and hope again.

 

[BernardBlack]

How many days since emergence?

Four days I think. Not got my records to hand.

 

[beeno]

Four days I think. Not got my records to hand.

She is sexually mature from day 5 onwards. If you have nothing better to do, see if you can catch her on a mating flight. The bees will be desperate and will shove her out the door pretty quickly. Then look for eggs on day 10. The odds are against you though IMHO, so I would make enquiries about the possibility of obtaining a laying queen.

 

[BernardBlack]

Emerged Q from artificial swarm hive seems to have disappeared on me. Had a good check for her, but nothing.

Meanwhile, I had a DLQ in the other hive (on original site). I missed a QC, now sealed, and she's gone too. Even though she was clipped.

Is it asking a bit much for the Q in the QC to emerge and start laying at this time of the year? I'm hoping she will, so I can unite the two hives.

 

[beeno]

Hi Bernard, The emerged queen may still be there. Sometimes they are hard to find especially if they are on the sides of the box. Just looked at the weather in your area and it is very wintery. Are they collecting any pollen? I must say the odds are against you. All you can do is hope that she is mated, but not yet laying and make sure they have enough stores. The drone laying queen will not produce a viable QC as the larva will be drone and it is too late in the season anyhow. Fingers crossed that you get lucky.

 

[BernardBlack]

Hi Bernard, The emerged queen may still be there. Sometimes they are hard to find especially if they are on the sides of the box. Just looked at the weather in your area and it is very wintery. Are they collecting any pollen? I must say the odds are against you. All you can do is hope that she is mated, but not yet laying and make sure they have enough stores. The drone laying queen will not produce a viable QC as the larva will be drone and it is too late in the season anyhow. Fingers crossed that you get lucky.

Yes they're bringing in pollen.

The DLQ hive had some drone brood within the worker brood. Presumably she's running out of sperm, but the QC would still be viable if she was still producing workers too?

 

[beeno]

I would give up thinking about the drone layer. In the first place, odds very bad that the one QC would be from a fertilised egg and secondly too late in the season to get mated as there are no or very few drones and mating weather is disappearing fast. My colonies got rid of the drones very early this year because of the drought. This is the facts of life with beekeeping and it is difficult to accept when one is a one or two hive owner. We have all been there at some point.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yes they're bringing in pollen.

Means nothing, wish people would stop regurgitating that nonsense.

 

[BernardBlack]

I would give up thinking about the drone layer. In the first place, odds very bad that the one QC would be from a fertilised egg and secondly too late in the season to get mated as there are no or very few drones and mating weather is disappearing fast. My colonies got rid of the drones very early this year because of the drought. This is the facts of life with beekeeping and it is difficult to accept when one is a one or two hive owner. We have all been there at some point.

What do you reckon then? Buy a mated queen?

 

[beeno]

That depends on; the strength of the parent colony not worth it for a small number of bees and finding someone who can give you a patch of eggs to test that the queen is no longer there. It may be better, to close up and hope for the best rather than throwing good money after bad. Most colonies are well into winter preps by now and yours would have to start from scratch including the introduction itself which is not always successful.

 

[BernardBlack]

Left hive for couple weeks. Opened today, found one egg. I suppose it's difficult to know at this stage if she has mated successfully

 

[beeno]

Did you see the queen? Could be a laying workers egg. However, you are not the only one with a non-laying (hopefully mated) queen at the moment. Fingers cross.

 

[BernardBlack]

Did you see the queen? Could be a laying workers egg. However, you are not the only one with a non-laying (hopefully mated) queen at the moment. Fingers cross.

No didn't see Q. Egg was at bottom of cell. Not a 100% method of ruling out LW's but it's a start, of sorts.

 

[beeno]

Have you still got a good complement of bees?

 

[masterBK]

Quite often, in my experience, with laying workers the first eggs are laid singly at bottom of cell.

 

[Poly Hive]

Really?

Given that the abdomen is shorter, unless the first one to do so is abnormal, this is an oddity?

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

Quite often, in my experience, with laying workers the first eggs are laid singly at bottom of cell.

Indeed, have had them lay up several entire combs so perfectly you would think it was done by a queen.