[B52EW]

Hello, I'm a second season keep looking for advice on what to do about a hive that appears to be superseding what seems to be a good queen.

The background: I have two overwintered deeps that started from late spring nucs in 2013, they limped through the summer/fall, but came through the winter fine and began to build up quickly this year. I added medium supers which began to fill out. A month ago, at about the time I was considering doing some splits to reduce the chance of swarming, I broke my leg. Knowing my ability to monitor the hives would be limited I asked a friend to make splits to to reduce the chance of swarming. He was unable to find the queens to make the splits, but he moved 5 frames to each nuc and then checkboarded the original hives. That was March 22.

One of the nucs ended up with a queen and the original is going through the natural process of re-queening.

My question concerns the other hive where the queen remained in the original hive. The queen has a nice laying pattern and the original hive frames are well filled with eggs/larve/capped brood. Additionally, the medium super is nearly filled with textbook brood and honey pattern. However, there are numerous queen cells located high on the frames. I have read where checkerboarding may cause supersedure...I assume that is what is happening. If so what to do,

1. Do I let nature take its course and let the bees sort it out?
2. Do I attempt to move the queen into the queenless nuc?
3. Do I move frames with queen cells into the nuc? (already attempt this on March 30 with some cells from the hive in question...awaiting the result)
4. Do I take the queen along with the brood in the medium super and make another split and let the queen cells have the hive body?
5. Do something else?

My goal this year is some strong hives and not honey crop. Thanks for your inputs

 

[Saltybee]

The queenless nuc; Mar 22 to now is too soon to be laying. Are you sure it is queenless?

Superceder cells tend to be closer to main brood and only 1 or 2. Probably emergency from stretching out brood nest. Do you want them to replace queen anyway?
Being greedy I would probably split mediums into 2 nucs. Can always combine back from best queens.

Much of this is flow question and timing. No help there.

 

[B52EW]

Saltybee, thanks for the response. I only know the nuc "was" queenless at the split, the nuc "may" be in the process of re-queening...but I thought maybe knowing I put a laying queen into the nuc would better than hoping a laying queen is in work. Forgot to mention I'm in the Florida Panhandle, in the flow now. Also, the queens were new in 2013...less than year laying...was happy with her up to this point, and no evidence to me (bees may know better) that she is undesirable.

 

[Saltybee]

I would not risk a laying queen in a maybe nuc. Move a brood frame into that one, keep them busy and test for QCs. Better odds to move the laying queen into a new nuc with brood frames. That keeps her as a safety reserve. Too many queens, too many choices, nice.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenrearing.htm Is a good calendar.

If splits are in same yard get them out of flight path at least. Locals can tell you much better how much honey loss etc from splitting.

Only time I disagreed with the bees in a true superceder (a single cell), queen was new, tight, pretty pattern. I moved that cell to a nuc thinking they would make another. Wrong. I think you have stretch out emergency cells, not superceder.