I am new to bee keeping and have two hives. I lost both queens and by the time I realized what was going on I had little capped brood left. Okay, duh. I suspected Varroa mites as I saw no evidence of swarming and the hives are packed with bees, honey, and pollen, but no few capped cells and no eggs. One hive had a supercedure cell that had not hatched.
I confirmed Varroa mites with the ether test and added Apistan strips. I ordered new queens, but Im wondering how this will work. Assuming there are no supercedure queens hatching and no laying workers, can I add these queens with any success? What about nurse bees for the new larva assuming the queen takes? Since nurse bees are the early part of the workers life, will they be too old by the time the new queen starts laying?
Any help is highly appreciated.
Steve
I confirmed Varroa mites with the ether test and added Apistan strips. I ordered new queens, but Im wondering how this will work. Assuming there are no supercedure queens hatching and no laying workers, can I add these queens with any success? What about nurse bees for the new larva assuming the queen takes? Since nurse bees are the early part of the workers life, will they be too old by the time the new queen starts laying?
Any help is highly appreciated.
Steve