Well that didn't work...

[Swarm]

Nope, she'll kill your queen.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yep

 

[Clemcook]

You know, I may not be experienced but I do a lot of research and I believe that a lot can be said for some good time to think and concider, in doing this I decided to sit and watch my two hives, left hive (Potential Q-) behaviour was complete opposite to right hive (Q+) I've watched a video on the behaviour of bees when they don't have a queen and it's spot on, walking about on the ledge,
Wings open, looking hopeless. Now right hive was busy going in and out, the bees were also turfing out drones, this tells me two things:
1. Hive one isn't stupid , they are keeping their drones as
They don't have a queen. Also I believe the polar opposite behaviour can't be ignored

I have been advised I can try a mated queen for a while yet I'm if needed, I'll try the hole in
The brood and to be honest hope for a QC and if non is produced then I pray!

 

[Beverlyp24]

Hi Clemcook,

I am in exactly the same position as you! The queen in my largest hive died, or rather, stopped laying around 5 days after an inspection back in July. I am confident she did not swarm. Initially they raised supersedure or emergency queen cells (not certain which) and I believe the queen should have hatched around 20 July, yet still I have no brood.

To be fair, the weather has been poor, so mating may have been difficult. We have now put two test frames in and no queen cells made on either.

The hive still has a significant number of bees, though obviously having had no brood for a few weeks now, things are not looking good. My thoughts right now are to give it until next Friday and then if still no brood, do my best to find the queen, squish her and hopefully, buy a mated queen.

Very open to being told my plan is rubbish as I am very much in the beginner league! I have my fingers crossed for you Clemcook - really hope you see brood soon!!

 

[Clemcook]

It's a tough one, at least you haven't tried to find the queen and failed, I had this idea which I would love feedback on...


I can remember when I had to do my split I put my queen into a Nuc Box along with some bee, I left the door open for them to come in and out and they remained within the nuc box I did a move today and decided to make life easier I would put some of the frames inside the Nuc Box last night. This morning when I came to do the move all of the Bees had left and had obviously gone back into the main hive. So I thought when I got to the location I would put some new frames inside the nuc box and see if the bees leave and one would assume if the bees stay in the box then the Queen is in there as that's what happened before??!

I feel I have a plan!

 

[Flyinstructor]

Actually, it was just over 4 weeks, does the advice change??

Thanks

If it was 4 weeks from capped queen cell, then I would still wait, I had 5 colonies in this position this year, 3 colonies took 4 weeks from queen emerging before I saw eggs and brood, the others a few days less. A queen cell will be capped at day 8, queen will emerge day 16. It can take another 5 days for the queen to mature and be ready to mate, so nearly 2 weeks after cell capped. It is however not unusual for queen to take a couple of weeks after maturing to successfully mate, add another few days for things to mature and you can easily see 3 weeks is optimistic, it can happen that queen mates almost immediately but it often takes longer.

 

[Erichalfbee]

If it was 4 weeks from capped queen cell, then I would still wait, I had 5 colonies in this position this year, 3 colonies took 4 weeks from queen emerging before I saw eggs and brood, the others a few days less. A queen cell will be capped at day 8, queen will emerge day 16. It can take another 5 days for the queen to mature and be ready to mate, so nearly 2 weeks after cell capped. It is however not unusual for queen to take a couple of weeks after maturing to successfully mate, add another few days for things to mature and you can easily see 3 weeks is optimistic, it can happen that queen mates almost immediately but it often takes longer.

Six weeks after emergence and she's a dud ..........most of the time

 

[Millet]

Just for the record Queen cells do not hatch when we want them to, it is all temperature dependent,i know bees keep the hive warm but how do they keep them Queen cells warm near the OMF... ? .. anyway i have had Queens emerge on around 18/19 days after they where sealed, Google me that.. lol

 

[Clemcook]

It's a tough one, at least you haven't tried to find the queen and failed, I had this idea which I would love feedback on...


I can remember when I had to do my split I put my queen into a Nuc Box along with some bee, I left the door open for them to come in and out and they remained within the nuc box I did a move today and decided to make life easier I would put some of the frames inside the Nuc Box last night. This morning when I came to do the move all of the Bees had left and had obviously gone back into the main hive. So I thought when I got to the location I would put some new frames inside the nuc box and see if the bees leave and one would assume if the bees stay in the box then the Queen is in there as that's what happened before??!

I feel I have a plan!

Any feedback on my idea? Although there wasn't any brood put with them on the move.

Thanks

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just for the record Queen cells do not hatch when we want them to, it is all temperature dependent,i know bees keep the hive warm but how do they keep them Queen cells warm near the OMF... ? .. anyway i have had Queens emerge on around 18/19 days after they where sealed, Google me that.. lol

Are you saying your queens are taking 27/28 days as opposed to the widely recognised 16?

 

[Teemore]

Any feedback on my idea? Although there wasn't any brood put with them on the move.

Thanks

If all the bees in the original box are now old enough to be foragers, they will have orientated on the original hive and will make their way back to it from the Nuc. If there is no brood in the Nuc there is nothing to hold the bees there.

 

[drex]

Any feedback on my idea? Although there wasn't any brood put with them on the move.

Thanks

Can't quite see where you are coming from. However the books say that if you move a hive less than 3 miles away ( as the bee flies) from the old location, the bees will return to the old location. However there has been a recent post on here by Amari saying that 1 mile works for him. It all depends on the terrain and how far afield the bees have been foraging. As posted above if you put brood in a new hive it will hold nurse bees in that hive. Also if there is a queen in the new hive that too will hold some of the bees. Do not quite see what you are trying to do?

 

[Millet]

Are you saying your queens are taking 27/28 days as opposed to the widely recognised 16?

no my mistake from the egg to when the queen emerges has taken longer than the standard 16 days

 

[Clemcook]

Can't quite see where you are coming from. However the books say that if you move a hive less than 3 miles away ( as the bee flies) from the old location, the bees will return to the old location. However there has been a recent post on here by Amari saying that 1 mile works for him. It all depends on the terrain and how far afield the bees have been foraging. As posted above if you put brood in a new hive it will hold nurse bees in that hive. Also if there is a queen in the new hive that too will hold some of the bees. Do not quite see what you are trying to do?

Its a long story, you would probably have to read the whole of my thread but to cut a long story short I did a split a while ago my queen should of started laying but hasn't so not really sure whether she is in the hive or not as I can't spot her, when I did the split I noticed that when I put my queen inside the nuc the Bees stayed with her, I've just moved my potentially Virgin Queen hive and in doing so I put some of the frames into a nuc..subsequently the bees went back into the main hive (not like before whenever the queen was in the box they stayed)

So with this hive that I'm struggling to find the Queen with I thought if I add a few friends at a time into the nuc I can assume that if they stay in it then the Queen must be with them? Which will give me an easier way of finding her and hopefully more idea as to whether she is in the hive or not

 

[Hivemaker.]

I can assume that if they stay in it then the Queen must be with them? Which will give me an easier way of finding her and hopefully more idea as to whether she is in the hive or not

If there just happens to be a virgin there she will also fly, along with the other bees, straight back to the original box which she originally orientated from.

 

[Clemcook]

If there just happens to be a virgin there she will also fly, along with the other bees, straight back to the original box which she originally orientated from.

Oh pooh. I'm pinning my chances on the test frame,

Thanks

 

[Clemcook]

Hallelujah!!

I inspected today to try some tips I was given and there was only brood in the hive! Not a duffer after all, I'm so pleased ��

Always short lived as now worried my other hive needs more space, I can't keep up with this queen

Thanks all for your help

 

[enrico]

Patience is usually all that is needed in this game! They will survive if it is at all possible, otherwise we wouldn't have bees now! Well done, good outcome, breath again!
E

 

[Millet]

Hallelujah!!

I inspected today to try some tips I was given and there was only brood in the hive! Not a duffer after all, I'm so pleased ��

Always short lived as now worried my other hive needs more space, I can't keep up with this queen

Thanks all for your help

That's brilliant news for you, you can stop pulling your hair out now and relax, crack the wine open and go sit in the sun with your feet up.

 

[Clemcook]

Thanks it's been a good 6 weeks form emergence.

I'm too scared to check my big hive tomorrow incase I see a swarm cell, it was rather full today.