I have been challenged by one of my hives since the start of May. This hive swarmed in early May and then had trouble with a good laying queen. I had spotted at least three queens in this hive, but none seemed to be laying any eggs. After a couple of weeks of letting Mother Nature do her thing, I decided to intervene. I purchased a Carniolan Queen, as I have been wanting to give them a try.
She was introduced in her queen cage on May 22. At the time of her introduction, there were no eggs evident in the hive.
On May 27 the hive was inspected and the queen had been released. I was not able to find her in the hive, but there were a good number of eggs. The eggs were in the proper position and a single egg per cell was noted.
Today, May 31, I inspected again. I was not able to locate the queen, but I did find normal eggs, hatched eggs and some uncapped larvae. No capped brood was found.
I was upset to find the classic signs of a laying worker(s). Cells were found with eggs on the sides of the cell, eggs off center and laying down and multiple eggs per cell. I found one cell with at least five eggs in it.
I did see cells with single, normal looking eggs as well. For that reason, I feel the queen is still there, but it seems that the bees have grown impatient for having been with no brood for a couple of weeks.
Should I intervene in any manner, or let the bees handle themselves for now? I know it would be impossible to find the laying worker. I would be much happier if I could find the queen and know that she is there, but I am still going on the egg findings to indicate she is there and is laying.
She was introduced in her queen cage on May 22. At the time of her introduction, there were no eggs evident in the hive.
On May 27 the hive was inspected and the queen had been released. I was not able to find her in the hive, but there were a good number of eggs. The eggs were in the proper position and a single egg per cell was noted.
Today, May 31, I inspected again. I was not able to locate the queen, but I did find normal eggs, hatched eggs and some uncapped larvae. No capped brood was found.
I was upset to find the classic signs of a laying worker(s). Cells were found with eggs on the sides of the cell, eggs off center and laying down and multiple eggs per cell. I found one cell with at least five eggs in it.
I did see cells with single, normal looking eggs as well. For that reason, I feel the queen is still there, but it seems that the bees have grown impatient for having been with no brood for a couple of weeks.
Should I intervene in any manner, or let the bees handle themselves for now? I know it would be impossible to find the laying worker. I would be much happier if I could find the queen and know that she is there, but I am still going on the egg findings to indicate she is there and is laying.