Queenless

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Nick W

House Bee
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
106
Reaction score
1
Location
Kidderminster
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
2 Hives
Hi

I have 2 hives. One has several frames of brood, one has none.

There is no brood, no eggs etc.

I suspect there is no queen.

I have placed one frame of brood from the one hive into the other.

Save for getting an additional Queen (not sure where I can this late in season) - is there anything else I can do?

Thanks!

Nick
 
If they are queenless you could combine with the other hive.
 
Nick,

The trouble is that if they do raise an emergency Q cell it's too late for her to mate ....so you might as well return it to the original hive and unite the two.

Or...if they don't raise an emergency Q cell she's just taking a break.

Can't think of any other scenarios

r



.
 
Are you treating with apiguard at the moment
 
...
Save for getting an additional Queen (not sure where I can this late in season) ...

Lots of beeks will be combining colonies at this time of the year. Should be plenty of surplus queens on offer. At least one on the forum this afternoon (now taken).


/// but it has been a strange year! So ...
 
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Lots of beeks will be combining colonies at this time of the year. Should be plenty of surplus queens on offer. At least one on the forum this afternoon (now taken).


/// but it has been a strange year! So ...

:iagree:There have also been a lot of late swarms which will need a good home with stores.
 
Nick,

The trouble is that if they do raise an emergency Q cell it's too late for her to mate
.

Not so. Autumn supercedure is not uncommon.

Whether the colony is too small to get through the winter is another question.
 
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Not treating with Apiguard at the moment.

So I have put a frame of brood in.

Should I wait to treat until I see if the make a new Queen or treat now?

Thanks!
 
... I have put a frame of brood in.

Should I wait to treat until I see if the make a new Queen or treat now?

1/ I presume that you mean that you have put in a test frame with eggs and young unsealed brood.
I'd give it three or four days and see whether they are building queen cells on that frame.
If they are, then you need a queen.
Personally, I think you should try to find a spare mated, laying queen rather than letting those qcs develop, emerge, hopefully mate, and then eventually start laying some eggs, which won't emerge as workers for almost another month after the queen starts laying -- that's getting late.

2/ Sort out the queen problem before worrying about varroa. No queen, then 100% probability of no colony if that situation isn't fixed.
 

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