supersedure or swarming?

[SaraR]

This seems like a common question at the moment, but I don't know how to read the bees so hoping for some help from all you lovely people.

3.5 weeks ago I split my colony to make an increase, by leaving queen and flying bees on old stand and moving brood and nurse bees to new stand.

The Q- hive had opened QC today but no evidence of a laying queen, so hope the virgin hasn't gone missing in the bad weather we've had of late. But otherwise they seem to do as expected.

Although I haven't seen her since, the Q+ hive has been doing well and have BIAS. This colony was doing really well a week ago, and despite slightly fewer eggs today but still growing (6 frames of brood and 8 frames in total (brood & stores) today). However, on the frame of brood furthest from the entrance there were one open and charged queen cell towards the bottom edge of the frame and what looked like one or two sealed queen cells in the upper/middle of the same frame.

Is the Q+ hive getting ready to swarm or are they replacing the queen, or is something else going on?

 

[ShinySideUp]

I am but a novice myself so take my enquiry with a pinch of salt. If you wanted to increase your hive holding, wouldn't you take the existing queen, nurse bees and frames of brood and move them to a new hive leaving the original hive queenless so as to get them to bring on a new queen? Or doesn't it matter which way round?

 

[colinc]

This is a artificial swarm procedure by leaving laying queen and fliers there is less impact on honey crop and the queenless hive with all the nurse and young bees is better to raise a queen. Laying queen has space and should kill instinct to swarm and q- hive should have no scout and for a while no queen to swarm with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Eyeman]

This seems like a common question at the moment, but I don't know how to read the bees so hoping for some help from all you lovely people.

3.5 weeks ago I split my colony to make an increase, by leaving queen and flying bees on old stand and moving brood and nurse bees to new stand.

The Q- hive had opened QC today but no evidence of a laying queen, so hope the virgin hasn't gone missing in the bad weather we've had of late. But otherwise they seem to do as expected.

Although I haven't seen her since, the Q+ hive has been doing well and have BIAS. This colony was doing really well a week ago, and despite slightly fewer eggs today but still growing (6 frames of brood and 8 frames in total (brood & stores) today). However, on the frame of brood furthest from the entrance there were one open and charged queen cell towards the bottom edge of the frame and what looked like one or two sealed queen cells in the upper/middle of the same frame.

Is the Q+ hive getting ready to swarm or are they replacing the queen, or is something else going on?

Here is what I would do:
Your Q- hive will not have any brood (3.5 weeks) so take a frame with eggs / young larvae from the Q+ hive (test frame) and put it in the Q- hive- if they raise QC's then they are Q-. The brood frame will delay laying workers whilst your waiting.
With Your Q+ hive: Is the Q clipped & marked and did you see her at that last inspection ? Did you shake the bees off the other frames to check for more QC's?
The queen cells sound like swarm cells, especially as they are of different ages. As 2 are capped the queen may have already flown! If I can find the Q I would put her in a 3 frame nuc and remove the 2 sealed QC's and leave the uncapped one (put a pin in frame to mark its position) recheck 1 week later and remove emergency QC's.
If you can't find Q then just remove the 2 capped QC's.

 

[SaraR]

Here is what I would do:
Your Q- hive will not have any brood (3.5 weeks) so take a frame with eggs / young larvae from the Q+ hive (test frame) and put it in the Q- hive- if they raise QC's then they are Q-. The brood frame will delay laying workers whilst your waiting.
With Your Q+ hive: Is the Q clipped & marked and did you see her at that last inspection ? Did you shake the bees off the other frames to check for more QC's?
The queen cells sound like swarm cells, especially as they are of different ages. As 2 are capped the queen may have already flown! If I can find the Q I would put her in a 3 frame nuc and remove the 2 sealed QC's and leave the uncapped one (put a pin in frame to mark its position) recheck 1 week later and remove emergency QC's.
If you can't find Q then just remove the 2 capped QC's.

Thanks! Hopefully I've got it sorted now.

Queen is marked but not clipped and usually easy to spot but has been hiding the last couple of weeks. I doubt that they had swarmed already as there were as many bees as the week before, if not slightly more.

 

[Eyeman]

Thanks! Hopefully I've got it sorted now.

Queen is marked but not clipped and usually easy to spot but has been hiding the last couple of weeks. I doubt that they had swarmed already as there were as many bees as the week before, if not slightly more.

Unfortunately new workers emerging at the rate of 1000/day quickly replaces the numbers that swarmed!