What would you do?

[Daisy]

This is in regards to two of my hives......

Hive A, is large and established accept for the fact that I found the queen dead last night.... (I requeened this hive two weeks ago, decided to check on her and it seems to me she hadn't been dead very long). I investigated and found several early starts to supercedure cells.

Hive B, is small and weak, I was in this hive last week and saw several supercedure cells, and smooshed them. I went in just a moment ago to treat with my grease patties and found the queen and several new supercedure cells....

As far as I know, Hive A is queenless (found her dead). Otherwise it's very strong, lots of bees. Would this be a good time to unite Hives B with Hive A? or Should I try to find a queen for the queenless hive? (concerned about the lateness of the season). Or should I take the queen from the weak hive, place her in a queen cage and integrate her in Hive A and hope Hive B nurses a nice queen that mates and returns successfully?

Or none of the above.

I don't want to risk Hive A.

What would you do? HELP!

[Michael Bush]

>This is in regards to two of my hives......
Hive A, is large and established accept for the fact that I found the queen dead last night.... (I requeened this hive two weeks ago, decided to check on her and it seems to me she hadn't been dead very long). I investigated and found several early starts to supercedure cells.

Apparently they decided they didn't like that queen. They may know what's best. Even if it's jus becuase she doesn't make enough QMP phermone they still need that to maintain morale.

>Hive B, is small and weak

Is there a known reason it is small and weak? Like a recent split, or is it just not thriving?

>I was in this hive last week and saw several supercedure cells, and smooshed them.

Why? If the bees think they need a new queen they are probably correct.

>I went in just a moment ago to treat with my grease patties and found the queen and several new supercedure cells....

They still think they need a new queen.

>As far as I know, Hive A is queenless (found her dead).

But they will raise a new one.

>Otherwise it's very strong, lots of bees.

Probably good stock.

>Would this be a good time to unite Hives B with Hive A?

If Hive B is weak in spite of having time to get established, I wouldn't want that queen heading up a successful hive. Apparently even her own subjects don't want her.

>or Should I try to find a queen for the queenless hive? (concerned about the lateness of the season).

That's a good option. My guess is they are a ways along the path of supercedure so it may not take as long as you think, but a new queen from a supplier would be quicker.

>Or should I take the queen from the weak hive, place her in a queen cage and integrate her in Hive A and hope Hive B nurses a nice queen that mates and returns successfully?

I figure if the bees don't care for her, her hive isn't thriving, then I wouldn't keep her.

>Or none of the above.

I'd either let them both supercede or buy two queens and destroy all the supercedure cells and the old queen and requeen. I have done this before on a hive where the old queen who was deceased was black and I bought a nice brown marked queen that I released only to come back and find a new black queen laying and no brown queen to be found. Obviously they had made up their mind and my interference wasn't appreciated or used.

>I don't want to risk Hive A.

What's the risk of letting them do their thing? Around here the queens have slowed down laying a lot because of the drought. If mine were raising a new queen right now it wouldn't make a lot of difference in the population since the queen isn't laying much anyway.