Where do new queens come from at this time of year?

[Ely]

Cheeky bugger. Everyone seemed to be helping you as far as I can read!

 

[richardbees]

Halfuncial,

Purely out of interest, how do you your defunct colony died of Nosema?

richard

 

[Hombre]

Halfunctional, you say you have installed a frame of eggs from your mentor but will be going away on Sunday, so give them a look on Saturday to see what's going on. I don't suppose that your mentor will be too happy supplying you with frames of eggs just for the sake of it.

Your attitude is slightly cavalier, when you should be thinking a little positively. To suggest that the forum hasn't been up to snuff on this occasion, might be because you haven't chosen to listen to the advice given. there is a requirement to filter it sometimes, but all the goods are there, layed out for your delectation. Spoon feeding is a little too much to expect, unless you want someone to come and take your bees off your hands because they are too much trouble to you of course.

 

[Halfuncial]

Well, I expected flack and I got it. Fair enough.
In post 12 I tried to sum up what had been suggested and asked a question. But from that point on I got no answers.
Perhaps the term mentor is a little strong and I should have found a more appropriate word. The guy I paid to supply me with a theory and then practical bee course was what was meant. He is not my first port of call because he has a living to earn and I would chose to contact him only having established that I really do need to disturb him.

If my attitude seemed cavalier then I'd say you have taken my posts more lightly than they were meant. Not much I can say there. I have a hive in what I see as imminent danger and I have to leave the country. I was looking for the best option. Far from disregarding advice I followed it to the letter! I was absolutely for purchasing a nuc and combining it with my hive. Three separate beekeepers told me that was a poor choice and so I installed a frame of eggs as suggested here and elsewhere.
So what did I want from the forum. Thats simple... experience. When someone asks what to do they will obviously get conflicting advice. Th onus is upon the receiver to sift through it and to decide a course of action. That makes sense. So the first couple of posts said "you can do this" and it helped. But then the post degraded into chat, off topic, all lads together chat. That was what I referred to when I said it was less than helpful.
Of course I'll get slammed for this post to and such is the nature of the beast. I'd simply say this to all comers in this post and every other asking for help.
Does your post - in response to a request for help - assist the requester in some way?
If it doesn't then why are you posting?
Post 21 above from Ely. Its subjective, inflammatory and it adds nothing at all. Hombre, your post, while critical, at least seeks to ascertain what the issue was. Look back up to the start of the thread and you'll see that the posts start out actually trying to help. Keep going through them and you'll see the help element reduced.
So what do i want? I want what everyone asking for help wants. Just help. Thats not spoon feeding, its not having others raise your bees for you and its not condescending remarks that seek only to please the poster.
Maybe i have it all wrong. Maybe I should ask for help, get three helpful messages and half a dozen that don't help at all and consider myself lucky. Fair enough.

 

[Halfuncial]

Richard,
Nosema was a guess based upon comparing the mess inside the hive with pictures in a book. I 'confirmed' it by mashing some dead bees and comparing a slide of the resulting liquid under a microscope with other pictures in other books. While I'm not trained in any form of science field it did appear to be a clear match with the symptoms and the pictures under a scope at x4000.

 

[drstitson]

"just called my mentor and while he has a spare frame he is also over an hour away by road"

not necessarily a problem - apparently in past american beeks have taken comb with eggs (wrapped in damp cloth) back to USA with them.

 

[Halfuncial]

Thanks Doc. Yes I found this out yesterday when I brought the frame back. I was overly concerned and had a blanket and hot water bottle at the ready in the car to keep them warm. It was explained to me by a very amused beekeeper that my efforts weren't necessary so I brought them back on the passenger seat wrapped in sack cloth. From what I now know I think i was a bit paranoid there.

 

[Teemore]

Drstitson/Halfuncial, I watched one of the DVDs about Bro Adam a while back and it was commented that he sent breeding material to the States in people's suitcases.... Not sure whether they declared they were carrying livestock/biological material but the eggs survived the transatlantic flight and were successfully used in breeding programmes.

I got a frame of eggs/emerging brood last summer to boost a nuc and it arrived with me in exactly the same way you collected your frame!

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Well, I expected flack and I got it. Fair enough.
In post 12 I tried to sum up what had been suggested and asked a question. But from that point on I got no answers.
.

I thought the answer to that question was what was suggested in post#3? As RAB and others have said, it looks like you recieved quite a few suggestions, its now up to you to sift through and decide which, if any, you are going to action.

You really shouldn't get too upset if your thread goes off on a tangent after it appears to have been answered.

 

[madasafish]

I'm in exactly the same predicament and transferred a frame of brood and eggs to the queenless TBH this afternoon..

All went well : except this was the first full inspection of the year so a little cross combing...

Results in approx 5 weeks time I hope..

 

[richardbees]

Halfuncial,

Thanks for your reply.......that's telling me off !

.... if I was closer I'd offer to help

richard

 

[Pete Nicholson]

Just posted this on another thread - AAARRRGGG - I'm Broodless

Unhappy AAArrrggg - I'm broodless
Did an inspection today - girls extremely busy bringing in loads of pollen and really buzzin. I added a second BB two weeks ago as was concerned that they were running out of space - inspection showed good brood and stores to end of frames.
TODAY - Stores a plenty in both BB's. Girls in both BB's (lots). Top BB drawn frames 3-8. Bottom BB fully drawn and stores capped around 40% - lots of uncapped 'honey' BUT....... NO brood/larvae/eggs/queen and around a dozen Drone cells capped throughout entire hive + makings of one queen cell (uncapped - no egg).

Bu**er,Bu**er,Bu**er.

Advice from mentor is that I need to add some frames with 'BIAS' which I hope to do from my DBKA apiary this weekend as my girls are running out of time.
Mentor also said that he had one of his hives in exactly the same state.
Anyone else in this position - Only have the one colony so am a bit stuck for alternatives as re-queening is not an option as there are non available yet.
P.

Seems we are in a similar situation - good luck
P.

 

[Halfuncial]

We are indeed in the same boat Pete.
I was all up for getting a nuc and combining the colonies to save the bees I had with the idea of them splitting them later in the season when they were ready for it and showing signs of wanting to. I was talked into transferring a frame of eggs in and then leaving well alone for a bit. Fortunately it was by someone with a frame to spare. The logic was that if i had just missed the queen during the inspection and she just happened to be off lay for some reason the combining would have caused a bit of a queen fight. Installing the frame of eggs would act as a test and would allow them to raise an emergency queen if they needed one.
Of course the problem with this plan is that if they do raise an emergency queen she will still need to be mated before she can do much good! So it might be that I'll get back in town in a few weeks, pinch the virgin queen and install a mated one anyway!
It seems to me that as with all beek issues there are many answers, all of them 'right' but some are more right than others given your particular circumstances.
If the frame of eggs is a possibility then perhaps that will work for you and if not there is always the buy and combine. But as my own mentor mentioned, that might just be a case of throwing good money after bad.
Please keep us posted. Purely as a learning exercise I'd like to learn more about my options the next time this happens. I am scaling up to five hives this year though so that this type of small beekeeper issue becomes a little less likely.

 

[enrico]

When you get a frame of brood from your friends find well developed eggs on that frame, scrape the brood a couple of cells deep down to the foundation immediately under the eggs for about six cells along. You will be amazed (I hope) how this encourages the workers to change these particular eggs into good queen cells, you may well get a couple right next to each other doubling your chances of the stronger queen living on and being the best for the hive.

 

[Hombre]

Halfuncial, I take your point at post #24.
I think I added up a few things and then was polarised by your comment about the diminishing help. It came across badly and I bit. Had you phrased the reduced quality of the assistance differently I think you would have been able to hang up the flak jacket.

Please forgive me for the wrong assumptions I made. I have to agree with you regarding the noise content, which at times drives focus away from the original problem - Hands up as guilty of distraction here at times (often).

Enrico gives advice, that I seem to have read before, but is very pertinent and the logic seems self evident once presented. Thanks Enrico.

 

[Halfuncial]

Enrico! This is very interesting! So you are saying to scrape off the reverse side of the frame under the eggs? You were clear in your post but I'm just double checking.
Does this only apply to queenless colonies or would this work if there were already a queen?
I don't think I have ever read or heard this tip!
Shocked and amazed! As always with bees around.

 

[Halfuncial]

Thanks Hombre. Point taken. Thank you for your candor.