Dead Queens !

[beedgy]

I have two new hives that have been without queens for about two weeks. They swarmed at that time. I was told to requeen and destroy any queen and drone cells which I did. Both hives killed the new queen after three days. The bees are now filling the brood chamber with honey. I have not seen any new eggs being laid at all. What is going on? I can't see putting out another $60.00 for queens if they don't stand a chance. I'm new to beekeeping and welcome any advice. Thanks in advance.

[alpha6]

How long did you leave them in the cage before releasing them? Also why kill the drone? New one for me. Also, what kind of queens were they? Russians sometimes are not accepted well by other types of bees...so it could be something like that depending on what type of queens they were.

If you want your hives to survive you better get some queens quick. There are still some available. You can get queens for between 15 and 20 with the average being 18. If someone is charging you 30 ea then you are getting ripped.

[Ross]

If they killed the queen they likely already have one. Probably a virgin. Wait at least another week and report back. If you have access to a frame of open brood, that will tell you whether or not they are queenless. If they start queen cells then they need one, if they don't they likely already have one.

[gingerbee]

You live in a wonderful place. Montana's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Usually when hives swarm they have made a new queen, a virgin who is about to emerge. What kind of queen cells were there? Queen cells are on the bottom of the frames, supercedure on the side of the comb. They are long and look kind of like a peanut. They differ from Drone cells because they are bigger and built out. Were they open or closed?

You may have a virgin queen who's not mated yet. If you have other hives put in a frame of brood, with eggs and if they don't have a queen they may make one. I have a hive from a swarm that is doing that now, superceduring the old queen.

[riverrat]

Another good reason not to destroy swarm cells. I would add a frame of brood with eggs to see if they make a queen cell. if they do they are queenless. How did you add the introduce the new queen to the hive. If you didnt keep her confined inside the hive long enough for the hive to accept her they will kill her. I would recommend getting a second opinion when being told destroy queen cells in the future.