[brettsbees]

I heard if you put a frame and foundation into you already established hive and the bees build comb on it, it is a sign of a queen.

 

[mike haney]

nope. the only sure sign of a queen is eggs/capped brood. good luck,mike

 

[arthur]

mike is right. A queenless hive can still build comb.

 

[brettsbees]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm in my 2nd year of beekeeping and frustrations run high when the knowledge is low. I currently have 2 strong hives, alot of bees but not much brood, a nuc with a queen and not alot of bees, and two weak maybe queenless hives. Do you think I should combine the nuc and two weak hives? I have learned the hard way about not keeping up with my dates in a journal. I'm going to try to get someone to come by and give me a "State of the Bees". I started with a bee removal guy that discouraged me from bee classes and then kind of disappeared. I love animals and feel very much responsible for these. Again thank you for your help.

 

[mike haney]

id focus on catching swarms and do a newspaper combine on the weak ones. join a club,get on the lists, advertise- its swarm season! good luck,mike