help!

[Beezie]

Help!
Split a very strong hive about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I divided the larvae, honey, pollen, capped brood and several capped queen cells that were in the parent hive.
I never saw the existing queen that day, but I never do...
I figured with all of the capped queen cells they would both have a strong queen...
I placed them facing each other in the same location having read about that method and hearing they will naturally split their numbers usually.
Last week the "parent" hive swarmed...
Today I went in and inspected for the first time and saw no larvae or eggs in either...not much food in brood boxes either, but I am feeding sugar water. Is it possible that those capped queen cells have hatched, but she hasn't had time to start laying yet, or do I need to order two queens tommorow?
Why did the parent hive swarm after I made the split?

------------------
Bz
email:bzfleming@homexpressway.net

[Michael Bush]

Once they've made up their mind to swarm you need to remove the old queen, half the bees and put them in a split to simulate a swarm. Make sure there aren't any queen cells in the hive with the queen. Make sure there isn't a queen in the hive with the cells. They will swarm BEFORE the new queens emerge.

Sometimes they swarm no matter what you do because they've already made up their mind.

[Beezie]

So, given that length of time, since I have no eggs, do you think I need to order queens, or is it possible that she (they) just haven't mated yet?

[Michael Bush]

There is probably a virgin queen. They will swarm several days before the queens emerge. Then it's several days until the queen's mating flight, then it's several days before she starts to lay. I wouldn't get too exicited until two weeks after they swarmed. By then you should see some eggs, but even then eggs are hard to see and new queens are a bit flighty and hard to find. Another week and the larve should be easy to see and the queen will have settled down.

Personally I wouldn't order a queen yet.

[Axtmann]

Days Queen

1 egg
2 egg
3 egg
4 larva
5 larva
6 larva
7 round larva
8 cell closed
9 stretch larva
10 pupation
11 pupa
12 pupa
13 pupa
14 pupa
15 pupa
16 hatching
17
18
19
20
21
***22 mating flight
***23 dep. on weather
***24
###25 first eggs

___________________________

[Beezie]

If both the parent hive that swarmed (after I made the split) and the split do happen to be queenless for whatever reason, how long will my hives be okay queenless?
Since I made the split, the parent hive swarmed after I split, I want to make sure that I have enough bees...how many brood frames should have bees on them? I'm wondering if I do end up having to order a queen (or two) do I need to order a package and merge them?
What could have happend to my my clipped, marked queen in all of this? She couldn't have swarmed with them, but did not see her yesterday in either the parent hive or my split...if she were alive shouldn't I have seen some larvae or is there any reason she would stop laying?

[Michael Bush]

>If both the parent hive that swarmed (after I made the split) and the split do happen to be queenless for whatever reason, how long will my hives be okay queenless?

Hard to say. Laying workers can crop up in a couple of weeks, but you need that to see if you have a queen. It's just the way it is. If you end up with a queenless hive, you can introduce the new queen to a small nuc and then combine and any laying workers will quit after the queen gets to laying.

>Since I made the split, the parent hive swarmed after I split, I want to make sure that I have enough bees...how many brood frames should have bees on them?

You have whatever you have. The bees would leave enough to take care of whatever brood they have. It's spring, so they will build back up quickly.

>I'm wondering if I do end up having to order a queen (or two) do I need to order a package and merge them?

I wouldn't. They will build up quite quickly this time of year. Shipping on a package is too expensive.

>What could have happend to my my clipped, marked queen in all of this? She couldn't have swarmed with them, but did not see her yesterday in either the parent hive or my split...if she were alive shouldn't I have seen some larvae or is there any reason she would stop laying?

Yes. If they were planning on swarming she would stop laying. They would cut down on her food and she would trim up for the swarm flight. Except she couldn't fly so she went back in the hive, or died on the ground if she couldn't get back in.

She may be dead out front of the or she may still be in the hive. It will take a few days before she gets fed back up and starts laying if she does at all, or she may have died fighting it out with one of the virgins or the bees may have disposed of her as inferior since she couldn't fly with the swarm.

To elaborate on Axtman's calendar:
Days Queen
1 egg
2 egg
3 egg
4 larva
5 larva
6 larva
7 round larva
8 cell closed
9 stretch larva
10 pupation Probably this is about when they swarmed.
11 pupa
12 pupa
13 pupa
14 pupa
15 pupa
16 hatching
17
18
19
20
21
***22 mating flight
***23 dep. on weather
***24
###25 first eggs Probably this is about 15 days after they swarmed.
31 Probably this is about when you have easily VISIBLE larvae. and this is probably about 21 days after they swarmed.