What's going on?

[Iainwilk01]

Ok, let me try and explain what's happening in the hive and hopefully somebody can offer some advice.
I over wintered a hive with a super of stores beneath the BB, which was on Drone foundation. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago on 1st proper inspection the bees were doing well in the BB, around 7 frames of brood and not much happening on the super frames.
I decided to move the super above the BB and add a QE so that hopefully they would fill it with loads of rape seed honey.
I went in the hive again yesterday and discovered that a couple of frames in the super were full of capped drone brood.(I've got worker foundation ready to go in now).
In the BB I found 1 SEALED swarm cell.
I can't tell whether or not there are fewer workers in the hive or if the swarm hasn't happened yet due to the cooler weather.
Thought please?

 

[pargyle]

Ok, let me try and explain what's happening in the hive and hopefully somebody can offer some advice.
I over wintered a hive with a super of stores beneath the BB, which was on Drone foundation. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago on 1st proper inspection the bees were doing well in the BB, around 7 frames of brood and not much happening on the super frames.
I decided to move the super above the BB and add a QE so that hopefully they would fill it with loads of rape seed honey.
I went in the hive again yesterday and discovered that a couple of frames in the super were full of capped drone brood.(I've got worker foundation ready to go in now).
In the BB I found 1 SEALED swarm cell.
I can't tell whether or not there are fewer workers in the hive or if the swarm hasn't happened yet due to the cooler weather.
Thought please?

1 sealed 'swarm' cell is probably not a swarm cell - it may be supercedure. It could be that you have a queen that is failing and is slim enough to get through the QE and has laid up the drone brood in the super. Was there any signs of fresh eggs and larvae in the brood area ? Because, the other possibility is that it's a real swarm cell and your existing queen was slimmed down ready to fly, was able to get through the QE to lay up a bit of drone brood .. not unusual before swarming and super cells will be attractive for drone brood ..

The next question you need to consider is 'have they already swarmed ?' Either way, with only one queen cell in there you don't have a lot of options at this stage but to wait and see what happens next ... Check for fresh eggs and larvae which will tell you whether you have a queen in residence ... No eggs and larvae ... generally no queen ... not likely to be laying workers at this stage.

Bloody bees should read the right bee books !!

 

[beeno]

One explanation could be that on the first inspection you shut the Q in the super above the queen excluder thereof the drone brood in the drone cells and an emergency cell in the brood box as there is a lack of queen pheromones there.

 

[wightbees]

Take Q cell frame out and put in nuc box and frame food/pollen. Take QE off and see if the Queen starts laying in worker cells again?

 

[pargyle]

Take Q cell frame out and put in nuc box and frame food/pollen. Take QE off and see if the Queen starts laying in worker cells again?

Yes .. or just leave the queen cell where it is and remove the queen excluder.

 

[idg]

Just a thought, but could you have trapped Her Majesty above the queen excluder, and so she has laid the super. If it was drone foundation (in super), would the bees not convert the eggs into Drones?
As queen pheromones are weaker downstairs, they may think they are queenless and so start to raise another queen.

 

[idg]

Just a thought, but could you have trapped Her Majesty above the queen excluder, and so she has laid the super. If it was drone foundation (in super), would the bees not convert the eggs into Drones?
As queen pheromones are weaker downstairs, they may think they are queenless and so start to raise another queen.

Sorry, I was beaten to it

 

[pargyle]

Just a thought, but could you have trapped Her Majesty above the queen excluder, and so she has laid the super. If it was drone foundation (in super), would the bees not convert the eggs into Drones?
As queen pheromones are weaker downstairs, they may think they are queenless and so start to raise another queen.

No ... bees don't convert eggs into drones - queens lay an egg that is fertilised and it becomes a worker or she lays an egg that isn't fertilised and they become drones. Nothing to do with the bees ... the reason workers can lay drone brood is because they have no way of fertilising the eggs they lay - no sperm - no worker bees !

 

[Nige.Coll]

I never put drone foundation directly above the queen excluder because they move eggs into it. Learned that the hard way with drone brood in the new comb.
1 Sealed cell has already been explained pretty much.

Did you see the queen ?

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[Erichalfbee]

I never put drone foundation directly above the queen excluder

And don't put a drawn honey super on 10 frame castellations over a brood box without an excluder either

 

[Rich0909]

If a regular pattern of brood in the super frames it might be the case that they were laid up with eggs and young brood before you moved them and you didn't notice?

 

[oliver90owner]

Rich0909 is likely on the money. Shirley the beekeeper would have checked carefully that the queen was downstairs? OK, perhaps not.....

They will not swarm (normally) on one queen cell. Bees are too clever to leave the destiny of the parent colony with only one chance of rearing a successful queen.

 

[enrico]

I am with Rich and RAB. Eggs were there when you moved it. As long as you have eggs in bb showing queen is still down there chances are that queen cell is duff ( unfertilised egg) and I would remove it.
Don't leave the drone to emerge above the QE as you will trap all the drones up there. Just ditch the drone brood.
E

 

[oliver90owner]

ditch the drone brood.-

Along with all the varroa in those cells (use it as a check for varroa levels if not too far developed).

 

[Cussword]

Find your queen. That may answer a couple of questions for you.