- Joined
- Jun 17, 2013
- Messages
- 51
- Reaction score
- 6
- Location
- Essex
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- From 4 last year to 11 this year
Quick question which I am sure I know the answer to.
I had a hive swarm and the new queen took over 4 weeks to start laying from when she hatched, I was on the verge of doing the hive tool test to replace her with a spare laying queen I have. I inspected Friday the 15th June and she had her bum in a cell and looked to be laying so I closed them up and gave her the benefit of the doubt for a week. I inspected last Sunday and she has laid up at least 2 frames of capped cells and BIAS on another. However at the top of the BIAS frame was a charged queen cell which was nearly capped.
I left them to it but wondered should I have knocked the cell down cause the queen was only just getting into her stride or have I done right by leaving it and letting them get on with it. The cell looked fully charge with lots of royal jelly and was at top of the frame and looked to be from a cup, not an emergency cell. She is a F4 buckfast and I am worried that the new queen will be a F5 so am I getting down the line to when they may turn nasty.
Any thoughts welcome
Thanks
I had a hive swarm and the new queen took over 4 weeks to start laying from when she hatched, I was on the verge of doing the hive tool test to replace her with a spare laying queen I have. I inspected Friday the 15th June and she had her bum in a cell and looked to be laying so I closed them up and gave her the benefit of the doubt for a week. I inspected last Sunday and she has laid up at least 2 frames of capped cells and BIAS on another. However at the top of the BIAS frame was a charged queen cell which was nearly capped.
I left them to it but wondered should I have knocked the cell down cause the queen was only just getting into her stride or have I done right by leaving it and letting them get on with it. The cell looked fully charge with lots of royal jelly and was at top of the frame and looked to be from a cup, not an emergency cell. She is a F4 buckfast and I am worried that the new queen will be a F5 so am I getting down the line to when they may turn nasty.
Any thoughts welcome
Thanks