what have i done wrong!!!!!

[BKF Admin]

You could look through them for a virgin.

 

[mark s]

cheers mark
ill try that next
what should i do if i find one??

 

[BKF Admin]

Have you got a nuc box?
If you find a virgin then remove the old queen with a couple of frames of bees to the nuc box and leave the hive alone for 14 days to see if she has mated and is laying,if not then unite the nuc back.

Remember that a virgin is often smaller than a mated queen and runs fast on the comb,you should be able to see she has a more pointed bum than the workers.

 

[mark s]

cheers mark
but ive not got a nuc or a spare hive with frames now,what would my options be then??

 

[Poly Hive]

flash some cash....

PH

 

[Rosti]

Mark you can knock up a nuc box very quickly from 9mm Ply (1.5 hours and you are done). Hedgerow Pete has done some fine videos but all you need to do is duplicate the internal dimensions of your brood box but only make it half the width (so ignore the outside simply check internals as you work through). Use 2x18mm pine strip at each end to give you a lug overhang and some more p[ly on the end for a seal. In this weather a cut piece of ply and a brick is an adequate lid until you have time to fettle something beter

 

[mark s]

cheers rosti
thats wot im going to do this evenin
meanwhile ive locked them up for the day see if that helps

 

[mbc]

locking them up makes me cringe a bit....hope they have adequate ventilation !
and dont forget to let them out !

 

[mark s]

yes they have ample ventilation and ill be opening them up about 4.30 when i get home from work

 

[BKF Admin]

I would say that the chances are:

Having a Virgin in the hive-20%
Having a queen in swarm mode-80%
You should be ok after today as they have been in swarm mode for 4-5 days already.

Lets see what shutting them in for a day does..

 

[mark s]

yes mark lets hope,what about turning the hive around so the entrance is facing the other way would that be an option ??

 

[mark s]

opened up the hive when i got home,bees came out ok very calm and well behaved.
checked frames saw the old queen,but on 1 frame they had built 3 supercedure cells!!!
why do you think they would do that with a young queen who is very prolific??
any ideas
mark s

 

[BKF Admin]

Had you removed all the brood from that hive?
Why do you say supercedure cells? swarm cells are not just on the bottom of frames as bees can't read textbooks..

 

[Hivemaker.]

Because they want to swarm,queen could also be failing,after bee's have swarmed and found a new home they often replace the old queen soon after.

 

[mark s]

yes mark there is no brood at all in the hive and they are about 2/3 of the way up the frame and and ive checked my books and they look nmore like s/cells than q/cells
does this mean then they may stop swarming now??
ill try and take pics tomorrow as i know which frame there on