Queen cell, now what?

[timgoodin]

This thread is a follow up to another post from last week.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210757

I got into the hive this afternoon since I've been out of town all weekend, I half expected the queen to have already swarmed since I found a capped super-cell last Thursday. Low and behold she is still there and the hive is totally full of honey in the lower deep body and they are just refusing to move up to the medium super with foundation. Since I did find the queen, I removed the frame with her on it along with some bees ( a deep frame) plus a deep frame of honey and bees and put them in two mediums with the rest empty frames of medium foundation. I know this does not maintain the bee space under the deeps in the bottom medium but I will just have to deal with that later since I'm trying to transition to all mediums. I placed a top board on the old colony and covered the top vent hole with a solid piece of wood to keep the bees seperated. So I essentially now have a deep and medium on the bottom with super cells (one sealed and a couple open with brood). Then a top board which has been sealed and then two medium boxes with queen and small amount of bees and honey and another top board and cover. I propped the cover open with a wedge so the bees in the top can get out and in via the hole in the top cover.

Will this arrangement work temporarily until my additional equpiment arrives this week (extra couple of hives)?

Since the old colony has a sealed queen cell that was discovered Thursday and additional open queen cells (2) could this colony still swarm when the other queens hatch? Should I destroy them after the new queen hatches or will she? I put in three new frames of drawn foundation into the deep and some of the workers have moved up and started putting honey in the medium super on top.

I took some pictures and posted them here. I can actually see a large larve inside one of the queen cells.

Sorry to ramble on, but any comments on the pictures or management of these super cells or the split/nuc would be appreciated.

Should I start feeding the split/nuc I made?

Tim

[timgoodin]

I rambled so long I forgot to post a link to the pictures:

http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa18/timgoodin/

Thanks

Tim

[berkshire bee]

I probably have more questions than you did on this one.
Was the frame with the queen on it a full frame of brood?
Was the other frame just honey?
Did you shake extra bees in with the frames?
Did you check for pollen?
My choice if I were going to remove that queen would have been to put the frames in a nuc. There's possibly too much real estate and too few bees in a double medium with only 1 frame of brood to keep covered. I'm not sure of your location but here in MAssachusetts we are still getting some nights in the low 40's. It is possible that the new queen could still swarm. I've only got a few years under my belt, so I'm interested to see what the more experienced guys and gals have to say on this one.

[timgoodin]

The frame with the queen was about one half brood and the rest honey and pollen. The extra frame was a mix of honey and pollen no brood that I could see. I was concerned about the extra real estate also but have a nuc box arriving today or tomorrow and had planned to move them to it asap, out nights are running in the 60's and days in the 80 (West KY). I didn't shake extra bees in but had planned to when moving them into the nuc box. I think part of the problem is I fed too much syrup too long and they filled up the deep with honey and the queen stopped laying and refused to move up into the medium of foundation. Thanks for suggestions and comments.

Tim

[Robert Hawkins]

Read Walt's method of opening up the brood nest. Also MB's web site.

Hawk