Queenless Hive.

[Marco666]

Hi everyone,
I'm pretty sure I've got a queenless hive. As suggested in another thread I've moved a frame with eggs from another hive into the queenless one. How long should I wait before having a look?
Thank you.
Marco.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You can tell in three days if they are drawing out a cell and feeding royal jelly but as an absolute beginner perhaps five days might be better
but a few words of warning; if they make queen cells then you do not have a queen but if they don't it doesn't necessarily mean they do. You might have to add another test frame.

 

[Poly Hive]

I do not understand the above advice. Provided the test frame has young enough material and I always make sure there are eggs they will make Q cells if they are queenless. I once used a graft and they responded to that.

Personally not had it fail over hundreds of times.

PH

 

[Marco666]

Queenless....

I will check at the end of the week. Fingers crossed.
Thank you very much.
Marco.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Personally not had it fail over hundreds of times.

PH

Perhaps you haven't but it has happened on occasion at old association apiary,when doing splits (though I do understand that is a different scenario).... having to add three frames in succession on one occasion.
Anybody else consider that the only positive result is where QCs are made?
Perhaps it just happens in Cumbria?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Perhaps you haven't but it has happened on occasion at old association apiary,when doing splits (though I do understand that is a different scenario).... having to add three frames in succession on one occasion.
Anybody else consider that the only positive result is where QCs are made?
Perhaps it just happens in Cumbria?

You can't depend on the fact they if don't draw QC's there is a queen present - poor advice to give to a beginner.

They don't always draw QC's at the first attempt and sometimes they never do, just blindly carry on and slowly dwindle.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Hi everyone,
I'm pretty sure I've got a queenless hive. As suggested in another thread I've moved a frame with eggs from another hive into the queenless one. How long should I wait before having a look?
Thank you.
Marco.

Yes I remember the other thread very clearly. (You'd have been welcome to bump it). Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

I VERY strongly suspect you will see EQCs. In that case do NOTHING until four weeks after the eggs were laid (or three and a half weeks after this inspection). Then look for visible larvae. (ADD And if the weather's bad, a bit longer).

For now, when you see a problem, sit down and have a cup of tea :- ). There's usually at least enough time for that. If there's one bit of my own advice I wish I'd heed, that is it...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

For now, when you see a problem, sit down and have a cup of tea :- ). There's usually at least enough time for that. If there's one bit of my own advice I wish I'd heed, that is it...

But not always unfortunately

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=537783&postcount=17367

 

[Marco666]

Should I check in few days if they have drawn a QC?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes you should

 

[Cussword]

Sorry to hijack.
I have a hive VERY queen-less, bought a queen for it and ripped it in half trying to take out the attendants. She was stuck in the fondant.
Anyway, gave them a frame with eggs shortly after. Today it struck me, (after reading something Erica posted) there probably wasn't any nurse bees.
So, while checking a nuc, where I had taken away a not too nice queen, ready to move her on when she filled it.
The damn thing was full of sealed queen cells, loads of bees, (Pretty sure they'd not swarmed, so thinking queen had died), no queen, no eggs, and only sealed brood.
Took out a frame of sealed brood with queen cell on and put that in the queen-less hive, took one queen cell and attendants into an apidea, knocked the rest back to one queen cell, sat down and thought to myself that I really do know nothing at all.



.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You'll be fine. The sun will shine and they will all get mated then you will complain you have too many colonies

 

[MuswellMetro]

Sorry to hijack.
I have a hive VERY queen-less, bought a queen for it and ripped it in half trying to take out the attendants.

.

I never take out the attendants, i think the "remove attendants" practice started when we had to send imported attendants to the NBU and has just continued and become the norm

if you want to get the queens pheromones out to the hive then queen plus five attendants is quicker than a lonly queen

 

[Marco666]

Thank you/

Thank you everyone!
Marco.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I never take out the attendants, i think the "remove attendants" practice started when we had to send imported attendants to the NBU and has just continued and become the norm

 

[Marco666]

Eqc!

I think I've seen some EQS. Should I leave them alone for a couple of week?

 

[Erichalfbee]

So you have no queen.
If they were my bees I would leave those EQCs and order a new queen now.
You have maybe 10 days, tops, to re-queen.
The trouble with raising your own queen is that there may be insufficient young bees to care for those cells.
If you want to go that route then you have to choose "the best" and remove the rest.
OR
Unite with your other colony.

 

[BeeJayBee]

sat down and thought to myself that I really do know nothing at all.

It's the ones that think they know it all, or think there's nothing to learn, who are the rubbish beekeepers!

 

[Levitt53]

Hi everyone,
I'm pretty sure I've got a queenless hive. As suggested in another thread I've moved a frame with eggs from another hive into the queenless one. How long should I wait before having a look?
Thank you.
Marco.

Hi Marco,

That was probably my thread. I didn't have any other bees at the time to put a frame of brood in from but I do have now. I have a very active swarm in a nuc that someone kindly gave me. I'm planning to go into there this afternoon and see what's happening. Hopefully I'll move them into a BB with a dummy board so they don't have too much room. If they are going well then I'll put a frame of brood from there in my first hive early next week and see what happens. The bees are still in and out of the first hive quite happily bringing pollen in to I am hopeful that they will have sorted them selves out. Here's hoping.

 

[Marco666]

Thank you Rachel! Fingers crossed!