[Steve Johnson]

I added a frame off eggs to what I thought was a queenless hive and its now a perfectly sealed frame of brood. The hive swarmed and then threw another swarm. After a few weeks I checked them and couldnt find a queen, any eggs, brood etc. I added the frame of eggs and nothing.......still no eggs and they were HOT. My gloves were getting covered with bees everytime I put my hand near a frame. The only good thing is, they are packing in honey like no tomorrow.

Should I just add another frame of eggs ?

 

[drlonzo]

YES, Add another frame of eggs if the last ones are now capped. Continue to do so until you see a queen cell / queen / or single eggs in the hive. If you have a virgin queen it may take a couple more weeks to get her up and going. If you have no queen they should wake up and do the right thing this time or next time one. Keeping open brood in the box will allow you to keep the workers from developing into laying workers.

If they were HOT as you mention, and conditions were right outside for normal opening of the hive, chances are you may have come during a mating flight.

Add that frame of eggs to the box and check back in a week to see progress..

 

[Slow Drone]

Are you sure you didn't miss any queen cells? Mine are pretty calm unless they have queen cells going then they let me know I need to stay out! With a laying worker or I should say workers 1 frame a week of eggs and larvae for three weeks will usually work out. If you have a queen cell you can install and if there's a virgin or mated queen present they'll tear it down. Do they have any areas in brood comb that has cleaned open cells? that can be an indicator they're anticipating a queen to start laying. I've got one nuc I thought was queenless but she started laying a few days ago. She's an expert at hiding I've not seen her since yet but there are eggs and fresh hatched larvae present now. I installed the queen cell on the 21 of April and have just now started seeing eggs and larvae lots of them too. Have they been louder than usual? I've notice my queen have been making mating flights between 1 and 4 o'clock. Best to check them in the morning is she's making mating flights. Is there an unusual amount of drone cells?

 

[stan.vick]

Keep adding a frame with eggs once a week, yesterday I went into a hive that I had added a queen cell twice and a frame with eggs twice, I intended to just dump them out and install a small colony I had trapped in a swarm trap, but there they were, a frame with young larvae, finally, so don't give up.

 

[Beeonefarms]

If you need to add another frame of eggs..." try this use your hive tool and make a notch under the eggs half way down in 4 places on the frame... what this will do is make those cells slightly larger and give the girls something to enlarge presto queen cells to go.

 

[Michael Bush]

It won't hurt to give them a frame of eggs, but since they have not started a queen, they probably have a virgin who has not mated yet...