Too Hot or Too Crowded II.

[Michibee]

> Where are the cells? Swarm cells are usually a dozen or more and hanging off the bottom of the frame. Packages should not be trying to swarm. Odds are the bees needed those queens and you have now destroyed them. My bet is they will end up queenless.

THe cells were on the side at the bottom on a buldge in the drawn comb. They've been building brood cells around the botton of a couple of frames each time I've checked them.

>So are they strong or weak?

Hive one is strong. Hive two is the weaker one. There is larva in both hives. Will the strong rob the weak one?

> Or cups with no larvae?

In Hive two, One was uncapped with no larvae or egg that I could see. The others were smaller closed cells.

Since I destroyed what were probably supercedure cells and there is still capped brood on the frames what are the chances that they will build more Q cells for supercedure?

I'll check them again this weekend for more Q cells and do a good search for the queens. If the situation looks as before I'll take a picture and post.

With my limited experience I would say that the brood pattern is fair to good on most frames. I've been feeding them since installation. Frames have some syrup stores but not excessive. What I'm concerned about is the totally non drawn foundation after eight weeks now.

Thanks for the help!

[Michael Bush]

>THe cells were on the side at the bottom on a buldge in the drawn comb. They've been building brood cells around the botton of a couple of frames each time I've checked them.

Are you sure they weren't drone cells?

>Hive one is strong. Hive two is the weaker one. There is larva in both hives. Will the strong rob the weak one?

Probably not, that's a whole 'nother issue.


>In Hive two, One was uncapped with no larvae or egg that I could see. The others were smaller closed cells.

The ones without eggs or larave or capped are nothing. I would not call them queen cells because they have no queen in them. The "smaller" ones may be drones. Are they smooth? Are they gnarled like a peanut shell?

>Since I destroyed what were probably supercedure cells and there is still capped brood on the frames what are the chances that they will build more Q cells for supercedure?

They don't need capped brood to raise a queen, they need just hatched larvae (four days from an egg). Without that they can't supercede the queen. Usualy when they build supercedure cells the queen is failing. Often she fails soon after.

>With my limited experience I would say that the brood pattern is fair to good on most frames. I've been feeding them since installation. Frames have some syrup stores but not excessive. What I'm concerned about is the totally non drawn foundation after eight weeks now.

They draw foundation when they need it. They don't draw foundation when they don't need it.

If they are rearing brood and building up, it will take care of itself.

I pretty much never destroy queen cells on purpose. The meaning of a queen cell (which I would define as having a larvae in it or possibly being capped) has to be judged in the context of the time of year, the location and the condition of the hive. A lot of cells hanging from the frames is clearly because they plan to swarm. A few cells up high in a weak hive is clearly a supercedure. If you get something between, like a few cells hanging in a weak hive or a lot of cells up high in a strong hive, it's harder to judge, but you still need to look at the context.

Destroying them would not be one of my responses. A supercedure cell, I would do nothing and let the bees take care of things. A lot of swarm cells and I would immediately do a split, or maybe two or three splits.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesswarmcontrol.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm