queens disapearing

[newportbuzz]

hi has anyone else noticed a lot of queens dissapering and leaving the hive queenless.

i have spoken to a few larger beeks over here and they are saying up to 30% of their hives have gone queenless in the last few weeks.
i have had this happen with a few of mine aswell. anyone else noticing this aswell. or have any insight to whats going on?

i am leaning to supercedure gone wrong but i could be wrong. i know for my own hives the queens are young and in one case only introduced a month ago.
whats seems to be weird is they are leaving the hives queenless implying its the virgin that is actually lost and the old queen killed. or the old queen stops laying and is killed when its to late to make cells.

 

[Norton]

Could be Nosema. Get some bees tested.

 

[psafloyd]

Are you sure that when you marked the queen you didn't using invisible ink?

I suppose nosema must be possible given how damp the year has been. Look what it's done for blight spores.

 

[Poly Hive]

Good to see another scare story up and running.

CCD? No VQD LOL

PH

 

[farbee]

Could be Nosema. Get some bees tested.

Would this make queen leave or are you suggesting she has died because of it.

I have a hive which I am a little worried about that may be queenless. Could see no eggs or queen or queen cells last inspection and bees seem a little angry. Checking again tomorrow and will give a test frame if still worried.

 

[Teemore]

I had a couple of as yet unexplained Q disappearances....

There are a lot more swallows around this year compared to the past few and I consider that this explains why I have lost a fair few queens from mating Nucs and very recently, from a couple of hives where the colonies seem to have tried to supercede queens that were mated (probably poorly) during the poor excuse for a summer that we have experienced.
At the minute I am regularly working with around 40 hives (not all of them my own and some unification on the cards...) and most of those have had several breaks in the Queen's laying during August Even 6F Nucs have demonstrated some sort of brood break. In a couple of instances I was worried that colonies were Q- but I spotted the Queens and on the next inspection there were eggs and larvae.

 

[Norton]

If the queen gets infected with Nosema then she will have a below par performance and may be superceded or just stop laying and die.

Nosema is present in most colonies and beekeepers generally fail to understand how much damage it causes, when conditions are good for it it becomes a big problem - by the time the bees are too weak to defecate outside the hive and start soiling the hive the end is near..............

Nosema reduces bee longevity, does not allow them to reach their full potential in brood, population and honey gathering potential.

Anyone that thinks otherwise not worth listening to.

Regular renewal and sterilisation of hive parts helps a lot to reduce spore build up. Avoid killing bees during hive manipulations. It is also a stress related disease, commoner in migratory operations and where blowers are used to clear supers.

 

[rockdoc]

I've had it happen twice this year. Both queens were newly mated, marked and laying (in nucs) They were both handled carefully but were absent on subsequent. inspections. The remaining bees were the same numbers as before, so no swarming. The most recent case happened yesterday. Checked today but no sign.

 

[Elaine]

From our one colony that overwintered last year, we ended up with 5, as a result of splits or swarms. The 2 colonies in the warmest hives have thrived, and are still laying well, but the others have all gone down the supercedure route - 2 of which seem to have (eventually!) resulted in laying queens, the third colony has only just superceded so we are waitnig to find out if she has successfully managed to mate so late in the season. As a scientist I know there are insufficient hives to be statistically significant, but as the warm ones have continued laying, and the colder ones have superceded, I wonder if the poor weather has resulted in the queens going off lay, and the bees deciding that she is not good enough, and trying to replace her for that reason......

 

[theengraver]

This Is a problem thats happening everywere this year.
I speak to around 300 beekeepers a week and this year It Is very common problem. not only in nucs but established hives. The issue seemed to have started around the start of June this year as yet there seems to be no real reson the only factor so far is that a lot of bees have had a lot longer life span this summer due to less flying time in some areas I tested many hives for Nosema in hive this has happened to and levels were very low oor not found.

 

[melias]

I've had the same problem. Two of my 4 hives went from having marked new queens to being queenless in Late July/ Early August. Very frustrating.

 

[The Doctor]

Yes almost exactly the same - lost 3 new queens. Stayed a while, a week or two after introduction, layed like mad then disapeared. Got fed up of buying queens and have left them get on with making their own - drones still about.

Sean

 

[Fahey]

Same here, requeened a cast with a marked mated queed, next inspection lovely frame or two of sealed brood and queen visible. Last inspection showed no queen or evidence, only a few ss or emergency cells. Been away for two weeks so not inspected since although don't hold out much hope.

 

[Poly Hive]

From memory it was Brother Adam who said no queen was safely introduced until she was surrounded by her own offspring.

PH

 

[mbc]

If the queen gets infected with Nosema then she will have a below par performance and may be superceded or just stop laying and die.

Nosema is present in most colonies and beekeepers generally fail to understand how much damage it causes, when conditions are good for it it becomes a big problem - by the time the bees are too weak to defecate outside the hive and start soiling the hive the end is near..............

Nosema reduces bee longevity, does not allow them to reach their full potential in brood, population and honey gathering potential.

Anyone that thinks otherwise not worth listening to.

Regular renewal and sterilisation of hive parts helps a lot to reduce spore build up. Avoid killing bees during hive manipulations. It is also a stress related disease, commoner in migratory operations and where blowers are used to clear supers.

Nosema is endemic and pretty much all bees will be exposed to it. Its not fully understood why some bees obviously suffer while others live with nosema with no apparent ill effects.
I also think the spore build up theory is a bit of a red herring as bees do a lot of housework to keep their nest clean and hygienic, the organism that is nosema either proliferates in the midgut of bees or doesnt and this has nothing to do with how old your equipment is, one thing we do know is even in pristine equipment bees can pick up nosema from the environment, from drinking places or even from flowers visited by other bees.
I agree stress is a factor,

 

[farbee]

Thanks Norton

My bee have bulit up well and produced 2 supper of honey so
and they seem to be doing well.

Would you thin that this rules Nomesia out as a cause or is it still possible but hasn't taked full hold yet?

 

[beeno]

From memory it was Brother Adam who said no queen was safely introduced until she was surrounded by her own offspring.

PH

Like that one PH - makes a lot of sense. Any modern research to confirm this?

 

[Norton]

I also think the spore build up theory is a bit of a red herring as bees do a lot of housework to keep their nest clean and hygienic, the organism that is nosema either proliferates in the midgut of bees or doesnt

So how does it spread from bee to bee?
It is a well known fact that old combs are nurseries for both Nosema and foulbrood. Regular comb renewal is a good management practice and a great help in prevention. Using old combs is bad management - ask your bee inspector about this.

Research has clearly shown that early removal of young queens from their mating nucs is a major factor in poor acceptance and increases the chance of supercedure later on. Queens should be left laying in their mating nuc for at least three weeks, two months is a whole lot better, before being sold/introduced into production colonies.

 

[theengraver]

It not just new queens going missing reports of last years queens also new queens raised in the hive from cells are going on the missing list.

as for queens being removed and sold too early I totaly agree with you there but if beekeepers buy from a good breeder and stay away from mass imported Queens were there only interest is to squeeze every last penny they can from beekeepers. From what i can gather from this years buyers of imported Queen that i have spoken to the failure rate has been on avarage of around 40% the main problems have been from greece. anyone buying a queen from any source should check if the queen has been left in the mating nuc for at least 4 weeks after she has started to lay. this may increase the cost of a new queen but its better and most likly cheaper in the long term

 

[m100]

My own recent experience

Two queens laying succesfully in nucs for maybe 6 weeks, queens removed and caged, passed from local beek to me. (total journey miles about 20 but the queens will end up in hives about 2 miles from their orignal location)

Next day dequeened donor hives, introduced new queens in cages, week later cages empty, no evidence of a laying queen in either hive, no queens spotted.

Suspect:

a) Bad beekeeping (missed scrawny supersedure queen that is not laying in either hive)

b) The queens have gone from marked and clipped to invisible status and have have gone off lay (no reason as there is plenty of balsam around)

c) Someone stole the queens

d) The workers decided they want to die

e) ?