thedeaddiplomat
House Bee
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2009
- Messages
- 498
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- cornwall
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- sadly, no more!
I did an AS twelve days ago. Checked the resulting two hives this afternoon - rather wish I hadn't, I am so confused!
The hive to which I moved the old Queen, a frame of brood and two frames of stores: Plenty of bees and stores, one frame of sealed brood (nice pattern), some sign of the new brood foundation being drawn. But no sign of larvae (or the Queen, but I might just have missed her - she isn't marked) and two sealed Queen cells. Bees entirely relaxed.
The hive next door, where I left the remainder of the brood, and several Queen cells. Lots of sealed brood, larvae, stores etc and plenty of very content bees. Bees very relaxed and busy drawing foundation etc.
What have I done? Seems to me I may have mistakenly left the old Queen in the wrong box. But this does not explain a nice pattern of sealed brood in what would have been a queenless hive for the past twelve days. Nor, surely, would the bees there be so content. Perhaps the presence of two Queen cells suggests that I mistook a sign of swarming for a move toward supercedure?
But could the other hive have produced a virgin queen that mated and got laying so prolifically in such a short time?
The hive to which I moved the old Queen, a frame of brood and two frames of stores: Plenty of bees and stores, one frame of sealed brood (nice pattern), some sign of the new brood foundation being drawn. But no sign of larvae (or the Queen, but I might just have missed her - she isn't marked) and two sealed Queen cells. Bees entirely relaxed.
The hive next door, where I left the remainder of the brood, and several Queen cells. Lots of sealed brood, larvae, stores etc and plenty of very content bees. Bees very relaxed and busy drawing foundation etc.
What have I done? Seems to me I may have mistakenly left the old Queen in the wrong box. But this does not explain a nice pattern of sealed brood in what would have been a queenless hive for the past twelve days. Nor, surely, would the bees there be so content. Perhaps the presence of two Queen cells suggests that I mistook a sign of swarming for a move toward supercedure?
But could the other hive have produced a virgin queen that mated and got laying so prolifically in such a short time?