They've been and gone

[Camey]

First inspection today for 10 days as it’s been too cold to look any earlier. And what I feared has happened: my best colony which produced a massive harvest last year has swarmed.

Here’s how it happened: this was brood-and-a-half (super on top). So at the first inspection, I inserted a QX above the BB, intending to configure it back to a single brood box.

I had looked for HM and determined that she was downstairs. Somehow though, in the inspection, she nipped back into the super above the BB and was therefore isolated. She laid for three weeks until the super was wall to wall, much of it drones, as I discovered on the second inspection 10 days ago.

So 10 days ago, I released the trapped queen and drones back into the BB hoping and expecting to see the BB full of brood next time around - ie today.

Not so. Today the colony was a bit defensive, which made me wonder. And sure enough, there was one uncapped queen cell and zero young brood. They’ve been off – perhaps unsurprisingly as the super where she was trapped would have been very cramped.

I’ve swapped in a frame of young brood (eggs and larvae) from my second hive and I hope they’ll re-queen. I’ll leave them alone for a couple of weeks.

So the moral is: be absolutely sure where she before inserting a QX. I’ve probably made other mistakes as well...

Hi Manek,
I done a very similar thing, had x1 hive on brood n a half since August and over winter and didn't want to go into Spring /Summer as preferred single brood and expand as required. As weather been pretty poor over March in FIFE I took the opportunity of a nice calm warm day, but never actually looked for queen as weather not good enough, lifted super, quick peek and place in QX, fingers crossed, left them to it. Checked 3 weeks later and super rammed, with very little if any brood in bottom brood box, stores being stored in bottom box. I removed the QX again and closed up again as still not right weather for any time with roof off. Found the y then became the busiest hive if seen for a while, jamming in and out the entrance and bringing in heaps of pollen x4 as much as the other hives in the garden, so ill see what I find when the weather eventually allows a longer inspection. Hoping they got pleasant surprise when exposed to all that new laying space, as lots of old wax etc accumulated on ground underneath as they were cleaning the cells out, hopefully

 

[enrico]

Hi Manek,
I done a very similar thing, had x1 hive on brood n a half since August and over winter and didn't want to go into Spring /Summer as preferred single brood and expand as required. As weather been pretty poor over March in FIFE I took the opportunity of a nice calm warm day, but never actually looked for queen as weather not good enough, lifted super, quick peek and place in QX, fingers crossed, left them to it. Checked 3 weeks later and super rammed, with very little if any brood in bottom brood box, stores being stored in bottom box. I removed the QX again and closed up again as still not right weather for any time with roof off. Found the y then became the busiest hive if seen for a while, jamming in and out the entrance and bringing in heaps of pollen x4 as much as the other hives in the garden, so ill see what I find when the weather eventually allows a longer inspection. Hoping they got pleasant surprise when exposed to all that new laying space, as lots of old wax etc accumulated on ground underneath as they were cleaning the cells out, hopefully

If you have ended up with the queen in the super then simply put the super under the brood box for the rest of the season. You don't need to check the super just pretend it isn't there. Any queen cells will probably be between the brood box and the super. I always run brood and a half with the half at the bottom. Ok you might get caught out with a swarm but not very often!

 

[manek]

Manek,
Was the old queen clipped?

No she wasn't - but she was about 2.5 years old and my best queen - calm productive bees - but probably due for supersedure.

 

[manek]

probably a virgin running around in there, and mybe if you looked carefully, so is the old queen.
The mind sometimes decides what you should see, Manek has decided they have swarmed, so his mind would not see the old queen even if he searched

What made me think they had swarmed was the total lack of brood in the BB. Any brood was in the super, sealed and over 10 days old.

 

[ericbeaumont]

No she wasn't - but she was about 2.5 years old and my best queen - calm productive bees - but probably due for supersedure.

For sure, they'd look to replace her either by supersedure or swarming.

Clipping this spring would have given you peace of mind: even if they swarmed (or swarmed on supersedure at this time of year) you'd probably lose the queen but certainly retain the bees.

An alternative plan (to keep her for grafting, perhaps) would be/have been to nuc her and let them make a new queen with emergency QCs.

 

[oliver90owner]

Reading the first post it would seem likely there were two queens in residence at the first inspection? Possibly one failing and one other? Something does not ring true to me.

 

[North End Bees]

probably a virgin running around in there, and mybe if you looked carefully, so is the old queen.

Shouldn't be a virgin in there as no evidence of uncapped Q cells. Just one charged QC not yet capped.
My money's on the original queen having been injured at the last inspection, rather than actually left with a swarm. Does the number of bees in the colony look depleted?