CSP
06-20-2009, 08:33 AM
One of my four hives seems to like having two queens. In late April this hive raised a new queen, but didn't get rid of the old one, who seemed to be laying fine at any rate. At first I thought the hive might swarm, but they didn't. Then, I thought they might eventually kill the old queen, but they haven't.
Initially, the bees seemed to keep the queens apart. They would always be at opposite ends of the brood nest. But after a couple of weeks, I began finding them very close together. In fact, on one inspection a week ago they were on the same frame within inches of one another, both acting as if everything were perfectly normal.
This is a one-deep brood nest hive which is common in my area. I use a queen excluder and there are three supers on the hive at the moment. Both queens seem very healthy and active and act as if they are laying. And, I believe both are laying because the brood nest is now completely full of brood. Every frame, stem to stern laid up with brood. But this has me concerned. I've noticed that this hive has begun to consume more honey than they're bringing in. The hive keeps getting lighter and the honey is slowly disappearing from the supers.
My question is: should I be concerned? Will the bees eventually take care of this issue? Should I be thinking about splitting? I thought about killing one queen, but I wouldn't know which to take out. The nectar flow in my area is just about over by the end of June, so I'm worried about the hive becoming too strong as we move into the lean months of July and August.
Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.
Initially, the bees seemed to keep the queens apart. They would always be at opposite ends of the brood nest. But after a couple of weeks, I began finding them very close together. In fact, on one inspection a week ago they were on the same frame within inches of one another, both acting as if everything were perfectly normal.
This is a one-deep brood nest hive which is common in my area. I use a queen excluder and there are three supers on the hive at the moment. Both queens seem very healthy and active and act as if they are laying. And, I believe both are laying because the brood nest is now completely full of brood. Every frame, stem to stern laid up with brood. But this has me concerned. I've noticed that this hive has begun to consume more honey than they're bringing in. The hive keeps getting lighter and the honey is slowly disappearing from the supers.
My question is: should I be concerned? Will the bees eventually take care of this issue? Should I be thinking about splitting? I thought about killing one queen, but I wouldn't know which to take out. The nectar flow in my area is just about over by the end of June, so I'm worried about the hive becoming too strong as we move into the lean months of July and August.
Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated.