View Full Version : How'd I do?
pennstatepitt
04-17-2006, 08:17 AM
I caught a swarm last year so I don't know where the queen came from and how old she was. Well, I took a look at the bees a couple weeks ago, and for some reason the brood pattern didn't look so good, so I ordered a new queen. I got the queen today and I went in to find the old queen and the pattern was excellent. And there were a lot of bees. So I decided to split them and put the queen in the split to start a new hive. I took two frames of pollen and honey and three of brood. I am planning on introducing the queen later. My question is, did I do this right? Should I even have done it in the first place? The damage is probably already done if I shouldn't have, but for future reference. Thanks a lot.
Michael Bush
04-17-2006, 10:10 AM
If there are enough to give both three frames or more of brood, it will work. Probably the bees either superceded the old queen and you saw the brood pattern before the new queen was laying, or the queen just hadn't kicked in for the spring buildup yet. Some bees wait until later and some start sooner on the buildup.
iddee
04-17-2006, 12:33 PM
Ya did fine, IF...you found the queen and made sure she stayed in the old hive. If you moved her with the split and introduce the new queen in the box she is in, war will begin, and there will be one dead queen, and maybe two.
Michael Bush
04-17-2006, 01:13 PM
>If you moved her with the split and introduce the new queen in the box she is in, war will begin, and there will be one dead queen, and maybe two.
Just one. The one still in the cage.
Troutsqueezer
04-18-2006, 10:03 AM
Michael,
Are you saying then that of the two queens, the one that the bees can "ball", will be the one that is doomed?
Interesting.
peggjam
04-18-2006, 10:46 AM
"Are you saying then that of the two queens, the one that the bees can "ball", will be the one that is doomed?"
It usually ends up being the one introduced that is doomed. One way to tell which split has the queen is to just listen, the one with the queen will sound happy and content. The one without will sound aggitated and snippy.
Michael Bush
04-18-2006, 12:42 PM
>Are you saying then that of the two queens, the one that the bees can "ball", will be the one that is doomed?
>It usually ends up being the one introduced that is doomed. One way to tell which split has the queen is to just listen, the one with the queen will sound happy and content. The one without will sound aggitated and snippy.
Aspeggjam says, basically the one that is new is the one that is doomed.