virgin queen didn't meet or

[irishguy]

Virgin queens didn't mate or got ate in transit or something other has happened that I'm unaware off. I checked all my hives and only one out of the 4 has eggs,larvae in them. I checked each hive twice and couldn't find no new eggs. The hives had queen eggs and hatched around the 23rd-28thJune . My last inspection was done last week on the 12th July and the beekeeper who done it with me said thebees where polishing the cells so that's a good sign, what happened in that time with the virgin queen, I'm clueless

I've noticed today what looks like a new hatched queen egg but I can't remember was that there last week. One of the hives was very loud and bit aggressive when I opened it, thou no stings.

What do I do now

 

[burren]

This is my state of play too = Hive 1 = unmated marked q put in on 26th june (today 22 days) no sign of q or eggs. patience.........

hive 2 = mark +mated q put in 7 days ago (in cage). cage now empty - q not seen (yet) no eggs, not really expected yet anyhow. patience..........

Hive 3 = unmated q put in on 26th june(same as above) (today 22 days)
q seen + eggs seen- RESULT

Hive 4 = has yellow 2012 q, was an AS (done on 19th june) received 10 frames of undrawn f, only has 3f brood= time for her to go!

 

[Torq]

I also have 3 queens that would have emerged at the around the 27th of june and aren't laying yet. Weather was good and not too many swallows or flycatchers about. tick tick tick.

 

[Heather]

Hive 4... 10 frames of foundation.. lots of work for bees to do.. Where was she supposed to lay whilst they developed the cells. Maybe wait and see.
Patience again...

 

[enrico]

Give her a chance boys and girls.....takes time to lay enough eggs for you to see. My question would be why are you checking yet? After I know I have virgin queens I leave for maybe six weeks minimum. They have to get mated and then start laying in enough quantity for you to see them. So why are you looking in your hives? Just I. Case you can find the queen is not good enough! Leave them alone. If they are queenless now then they will still be queenless in another three weeks!
E

 

[TOBY-3652]

Some of mine have not started laying for a month after they have emerged. And mate of mine said his are taking longer to get going this year

 

[irishguy]

Give her a chance boys and girls.....takes time to lay enough eggs for you to see. My question would be why are you checking yet? After I know I have virgin queens I leave for maybe six weeks minimum. They have to get mated and then start laying in enough quantity for you to see them. So why are you looking in your hives? Just I. Case you can find the queen is not good enough! Leave them alone. If they are queenless now then they will still be queenless in another three weeks!
E

I'm just going from the advice I was given on here. I was told check in and around the 21 days after queen cell hatched. I just thought that seeing as the other has had larvae and eggs from last week and this week there's still no signs of eggs in other hives, I honestly thought I had major problems. As for them beeing Queen less in another 3 weeks, I thought there would be something I could do to prevent this so my hives don't die off

 

[Nige.Coll]

Most of mine seem to have started laying really quickly within around 2 to 3 weeks of emerging.
At least one has failed completely but they seem to be doing well with the test frame .
I'm a new beek and have been warned about over inspecting during queen rearing time.
I'm not 100% sure but i think that having hives from different sources has helped with queen mating plenty of unrelated drones around.

No need to panic if your not sure put a test frame in there. If they need a queen they will make one if not they won't. At least you will know what's going on.

 

[irishguy]

Most of mine seem to have started laying really quickly within around 2 to 3 weeks of emerging.
At least one has failed completely but they seem to be doing well with the test frame .
I'm a new beek and have been warned about over inspecting during queen rearing time.
I'm not 100% sure but i think that having hives from different sources has helped with queen mating plenty of unrelated drones around.

No need to panic if your not sure put a test frame in there. If they need a queen they will make one if not they won't. At least you will know what's going on.

What's a test frame?

 

[Bosleeu]

What's a test frame?

It's a frame of comb from another colony, with young larvae. The younger the better.

You use it to check whether a colony has a queen or not. To work the colony has to be without any other brood young enough to make a queen from.

Simply put the frame into the hive you want to check, somewhere near the middle. If there is no queen the bees will make queencells to rear a new queen. If they have a queen they normally won't. You should be able to tell in a day or two. Mark the frame to make your job easier.

It will only tell you if there is a queen. Not whether she has mated or not.

 

[BeeJayBee]

If the bees make a queen cell you will know the colony has decided they need a new queen.

If the bees do not make a queen cell it does not necessarily mean the colony is queenless.

@ Irishguy - which beekeeping books do you have on your bookcase?

 

[REDWOOD]

This is my state of play too = Hive 1 = unmated marked q put in on 26th june (today 22 days) no sign of q or eggs. patience.........

hive 2 = mark +mated q put in 7 days ago (in cage). cage now empty - q not seen (yet) no eggs, not really expected yet anyhow. patience..........

Hive 3 = unmated q put in on 26th june(same as above) (today 22 days)
q seen + eggs seen- RESULT

Hive 4 = has yellow 2012 q, was an AS (done on 19th june) received 10 frames of undrawn f, only has 3f brood= time for her to go!

Marked unmated queen is a no no

Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk 2

 

[burren]

Hi Redwood

I know it is a no no. I dont do it myself but somebody from our assoc gave me the queen and she was already marked. He actually gave me two queens! I was very grateful for them too!

 

[kazmcc]

I left my unmated queen for 4 weeks, and when I checked, she had only just started laying one side of a frame of brood. Beautifully mind you. I'd give them a bit more time and leave them bee.

 

[pargyle]

@ Irishguy - which beekeeping books do you have on your bookcase?

We know that .. Beekeeping for Dummies ... got it about 2 years ago from memory ?

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=294591#post294591 Post 20 ? December 2012 .... slow reader ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

We know that .. Beekeeping for Dummies

Now Now!

What's a test frame?

 

[pargyle]

Now Now!

Might as well be !!

 

[Torq]

I also have 3 queens that would have emerged at the around the 27th of june and aren't laying yet. Weather was good and not too many swallows or flycatchers about. tick tick tick.

All 3 have now come into lay within the past 3 days!

 

[madasafish]

I reckonned last year about 3 weeks from emergence to laying..