Simon
New Bee
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2009
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Bredon, Gloucestershire
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 7
Last week, I split a double brood hive that looked about to swarm or supersede into two colonies.
The original seems fine, but the new one is a bit puzzling. I was planning to leave it well along for 2-3 weeks for the Queen Cell to hatch, mate and get going. However, I've been keeping an eye on it and haven't seen any bees coming in or out of the entrance.
First mistake was to put the brood box on the wrong way round (ie warm, not cold) but that shouldn't have stopped them getting out. I opened the super and scored some of the capped stores to make sure they had food, but still nothing.
Today, I opened it to see what was going in and they were calm with plenty of nectar. Frames about 3 or 4 in from the end had some unhatched brood, but no eggs and the empty cells filled with nectar. I didn't check the centre frames in case there is a virgin in there.
However, there were a few bees squeezing in a crack between the floor and brood box at the back of the hive. No movement at the front, only the back.
Is this normal? I swapped the floor around so the entrance is at the back to see if that helps and will keep an eye on it.
Any suggestions?
The original seems fine, but the new one is a bit puzzling. I was planning to leave it well along for 2-3 weeks for the Queen Cell to hatch, mate and get going. However, I've been keeping an eye on it and haven't seen any bees coming in or out of the entrance.
First mistake was to put the brood box on the wrong way round (ie warm, not cold) but that shouldn't have stopped them getting out. I opened the super and scored some of the capped stores to make sure they had food, but still nothing.
Today, I opened it to see what was going in and they were calm with plenty of nectar. Frames about 3 or 4 in from the end had some unhatched brood, but no eggs and the empty cells filled with nectar. I didn't check the centre frames in case there is a virgin in there.
However, there were a few bees squeezing in a crack between the floor and brood box at the back of the hive. No movement at the front, only the back.
Is this normal? I swapped the floor around so the entrance is at the back to see if that helps and will keep an eye on it.
Any suggestions?