Queenless Hives at this time of year

[JoeCass]

Hi,

Having just taken on may father’s hives who died recently I am starting to go through them to see what state they are in. They have not had much attention over the last couple of months and my first pass through a couple of hives showed no brood that I could identify, capped or uncapped. I could not see a queen in the first and MAY have seen a queen in the second. I have just joined local BKA for support and at their suggestion gettin season been inspector over to take a look. If it does turn out that I have some queenless colonies this time of year I was wondering what the best option is. I can let nature take it’s course but concerned about timing, potentially better to buy mated queens? I should add that I have limited experience if that is not already apparent!

Apreciate any thoughts

 

[Millet]

You need to make sure the Queenless are Queenless before you do anything... in my neck of the woods you will struggle at this time of the year with a bought in Queen unless you can rob brood and bees from other colonies..

How many colonies do you have to play with..? ..

 

[JoeCass]

Thanks, i will get this checked thoroughly before I do anything. I have 6, 5 nationals and a langstroth.

 

[WoodenBeam]

Combining your weak/q.less colonies is also an option for consideration. Far better to take a strong colony into a Winter than 2 weaker ones. This also gives you a chance to clean up kit for next season

 

[jeff33]

As suggested by Millet and WB, firstly check, dble and triple check they are queenless and consider combining with queen right hives. If you have no sign of brood I would also treat them for varroa before combining. It might be getting a bit late for a new queen if they have been broodless for a while.

 

[JoeCass]

Hi - Just to come back and to say thanks for the responses. It turns out both were quenelles. One looked like it was maintaining brood cells as if they were expecting a queen so left a couple of weeks but nothing happening and being filled up with stores.

I am using brood boxes from two redundant hives to double up with other hives that have one brood (nationals).

I need to have a think about what i want to do longer terms with double brood vs brood and a half vs single brood but that's another topic and by the looks of it and from what I have seen it depends on several factors.

 

[drex]

Brood and half is very clumsy arrangement. You cannot swap frames from box to box. I run all my home bred mongrels on double brood. Plenty of space to lay and no need to worry about enough stores. They still can attempt to swarm!

 

[Buzzlodge]

If I can follow on from this query;
One of my hives went queenless around 4 August, judging by the ages of the brood and emergency queen cells at the time.
Queen cells hatched out ok, I think.
Concerned by no signs of eggs, i added a frame of brood on 11 Sept and another which definitely contained eggs on 16th.
I checked today; the eggs have grown into normal larvae, no attempt at drawing queen cells, but absolutely no eggs anywhere.
What do you think? Is there a non laying queen present? Whats the prospects?
Thanks.

 

[madasafish]

If I can follow on from this query;
One of my hives went queenless around 4 August, judging by the ages of the brood and emergency queen cells at the time.
Queen cells hatched out ok, I think.
Concerned by no signs of eggs, i added a frame of brood on 11 Sept and another which definitely contained eggs on 16th.
I checked today; the eggs have grown into normal larvae, no attempt at drawing queen cells, but absolutely no eggs anywhere.
What do you think? Is there a non laying queen present? Whats the prospects?
Thanks.

No eggs anywhere means
1. virgin queen not mated not laying or:
2. mated queen not laying or
3. no queen

Frame of eggs no QCs means:
1, queen present or
2. occasionally nothing

I have exactly the same situation in a hive which lost its Q through MAQs, QCs with emerged queen.. but no eggs and no Queen seen (in a month).

Almost certainly there will be a slim queen (so difficult to find) maybe mated or not

I am going to test with Mated queen in cage and see bees reaction.. but weather has been so lousy last two weeks difficult to see so have not yet tried..(Bees very calm and polished cells suggest Q somehwere)

 

[Millet]

Sack the MAQ's and stick with the vaping route..

 

[Millet]

Brood and half is very clumsy arrangement. You cannot swap frames from box to box. I run all my home bred mongrels on double brood. Plenty of space to lay and no need to worry about enough stores. They still can attempt to swarm!

Thee has done it with no problem but don't leave them to play for too long..