[Biene Maja]

I’m in bees since May and inspected by hive today. I couldn’t find my queen. Actually haven’t seen here since end of June. I do have capped brood and larva. I just don’t want to get back in and disturb again
Made a quick picture attached. Are these eggs cells? What should I do?

 

[squarepeg]

hi joerg. i don't see any eggs in your photo.

it looks little bit like dark scale at the bottom of the cells and the cappings in the upper part of the photo look like they may be sunken in. if so, these are signs of possible american foulbrood.

is the brood pattern spotty? did you notice any unpleasant odors when you were in the hive? is the colony failing to gain strength over time?

i think it would be a good idea to have an experienced beekeeper come over and look at your hive with you.

 

[Biene Maja]

Thanks for the response. I didn’t no notice any unpleasant smell.
I feel like the colony been growing, but as I said I’m new and since I have only one hive not much to compare.

 

[GregB]

hi joerg. i don't see any eggs in your photo.

it looks little bit like dark scale at the bottom of the cells and the cappings in the upper part of the photo look like they may be sunken in. if so, these are signs of possible american foulbrood.

is the brood pattern spotty? did you notice any unpleasant odors when you were in the hive? is the colony failing to gain strength over time?

i think it would be a good idea to have an experienced beekeeper come over and look at your hive with you.

Those capped cells are definitely just capped honey/pollen cells, to my eyes.
Solid caps.
No worries at all, IMO.

The empty cells have been polished and shiny (just like well polished old leather shoes).
This means - the cells are ready for a queen to be laid into.

IF there are no eggs/young larva - my default assumption is - you just lost a swarm OR about to loose a swarm.
Not the end of the world, but urgent evaluation for the potential swarm is a thing to do (and maybe not too late yet to take actions).
Don't worry about it if already lost a swarm and just live your life.

 

[squarepeg]

your picture is very good quality. it would have helped if more of the broodnest could be seen. to test capped brood for american foulbrood you take a wooden toothpick and stick it into cells with sunken or perforated cappings. if a brown sticky substance strings out that is most likely what you have.

are you in a club there in greenville?

hopefully greg has the correct interpretation of your photo.

 

[GregB]

your picture is very good quality. it would have helped if more of the broodnest could be seen. to test capped brood for american foulbrood you take a wooden toothpick and stick it into cells with sunken or perforated cappings. if a brown sticky substance strings out that is most likely what you have.

are you in a club there in greenville?

hopefully greg has the correct interpretation of your photo.

+1

A wide-frame picture along with the zoom-in would be a VERY good thing to look at for better interpretation.

 

[Biene Maja]

I just went back in. Found the queen wobbling around. Also did the toothpick check. I tried three of the capped brood, nothing seems to be stringy. Attached also some mor e picture of some bottom deep and upper deep frames

 

[GregB]

Looks fine to me.

So, you are in SC.
This generally means you are in dearth and the queen may have just stopped laying for now and this is normal.
Beeks in your vicinity should know best.

You also do not need to be chasing after queen just so to look at it.
I killed more than one queen by now - while looking for it/trying to mark it.
No good reason - then don't look for it.

 

[squarepeg]

i agree with greg that everything looks pretty good and that dearth might be causing a break in egg laying.

 

[JWPalmer]

I agree with Greg and squarepeg, the brood looks good but there does not appear to be any eggs or larvae in the pics. Are you feeding? There was not much in stores either.

 

[Biene Maja]

Thanks for all your response. I’m feeding 1:1 in a top feeder. Just put another batch on.

 

[Biene Maja]

Just checked again today. I’m just not seeing or finding the eggs. Quite some capped brood as well as I noticed 3 orientation flights since the last conversation.
I’m also quite insecure how deep I should keep digging in this hive.

 

[JWPalmer]

Eggs are really hard to see, especially when looking through a veil. Instead, concentrate on finding larvae of various stages. Newly hatched larvae will be in a pool of blue-ish white royal jelly. The older larvae will be quite obvious. With only the one hive, you really need to find a local mentor that can help you with a thorough hive inspection. It is not necessary to go deeply into the hive very often, but a quick check for food stores and brood should be done no less than once per month IMO. If something does not look right, a deeper inspection is called for. Even on the quick inspections, check both brood boxes. I often find the top box packed but very little going on "downstairs". Good time to rotate the boxes. The good news for you is that you appear to have a fair amount of capped and emerging brood, so the queen is alive and laying. But, you need someone local to help you evaluate the hive's overall condition.