queenless hive

[joe]

hi
advice required

I have two hive that are queenless
i did have a queen cell in both hives, the cell in both hives appear to have hatched however this was over 2 weeks ago since noticed the cells had hatched
to date i have seen no eggs or larvae all remaining brood have hatched
i feel i need to introduce to new queen
the advice i have read on the forum is helpful.
the main advice seems to say be patience when introducing the queen and to cover the queen cage with paper and tape over the candy to delay the introduction untilthe bees are more than happy to accept the queen and for the beekeeper to make that decision
the question is when does the beekeeper know its ok to free the queen ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

First make sure your hives ARE queen less. A test frame is in order. Do that and then report back. A clue to imminent laying is polished cells, are there any?

 

[Batcher]

Maybe to wait another week is in order. 21 days is not out of the question.

 

[oliver90owner]

Yep, not read much advice on the forum? The advice to those that know nothing of the life cycle of a honey bee queen is the following.

Eggs hatch at day three
Queens emerge at day sixteen.

Queens do not start laying immediately and there is generally around a minimum of ten days before she will start laying, provided everything else is ideal.

Patience is initially required to allow any extra time for her to start laying

Checks must initially be made, to ensure the colony is queenless (assuming queenlessness is a big failing with new beeks). Only then should you consider introducing another queen or she would likely be killed.

One step at a time, I suggest.

 

[drex]

a couple of years ago, I had to wait nearly 4 weeks for queen to start laying. Knew there was a queen there from test frames. The colony did thrive in the end.

 

[bontbee]

Are they bringing in pollen? polishing cells? fanning? leaving empty cells, where you would expect a brood nest to be?

 

[joe]

yes they appear to be bringing in pollen not sure about polished cells though

 

[joe]

thanks for all the advice
just looked in one hive still could not see the queen but saw a few larvae
the other i could not see the queen checked my notes theb last time i saw the queen was the 17 of june queen cell seen hatched on the 2nd of july but have seen any anything since possibly wait another week.?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'd wait another two

 

[Midland Beek]

I give them a month, and don't bother disturbing them.

 

[Melbee]

A new (virgin) queen in my second colony took almost 4 weeks to start laying and now thriving.