Queen questions???

2440 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Rader Sidetrack, May 6, 2014

Cosmofarm

Discussion Starter · May 5, 2014

I installed a nuc about three weeks ago and have been feeding them and watching them draw out comb. Today I looked at all the frames and discovered a new queen emerging. I also see lots of larvae but do not see any new eggs. There is also lots of capped brood and some pollen and honey too. I could never find the queen since she is not marked.
I am not sure of the timing of all of this but is this a supersedure queen? If there are no eggs present, and only larvae, could the queen have died recently and now they have made a new queen to replace her? I am not sure what to do at this point if anything.
Any insights would be appreciated.

allen

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Oldtimer

· #2 · May 5, 2014

If there is still unsealed larvae, that means the queen must have still been laying eggs after the queen cell your new queen came from got started.

So there are 2 scenarios, one that it's a supersedure or two, the bees made a new queen so they can swarm.

Supersedure is less likely in your scenario, swarming is much more likely. Could be that all that feeding stimulated them to swarm, they may have swarmed already, the old queen leaves with the swarm and the new queen takes over the hive.

You can tell though, if the old queen is still there, there will be young unsealed larvae, and eggs.

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Rader Sidetrack

· #3 · May 5, 2014

When you say you 'installed' a nuc 3 weeks ago, did that mean that you moved the bees/frames to a full size box? How many frames have they drawn, and how many of those are filled with something (brood, honey/syrup, pollen)?

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Cosmofarm

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 5, 2014

Thanks Oldtimer, I did not think they could swarm after only a couple or three weeks but that makes sense. I see unsealed larvae but no eggs so could it be that she layed those eggs that are now larvae and then swarmed and now a new queen is emerging?
Also, I was told at bee school, that if you do nothing else, feed, feed feed! Thats what I have been doing, feeding up to a quart a day.
I installed a new nuc today and am now wondering if I should not be feeding so much?

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Cosmofarm

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 5, 2014

Graham
Yes I installed a five nuc box into a ten frame deep body. All but two frames, on one side, have been drawn out, the last two frames on the other side are drawn out but no eggs or other activity. I see capped brood, honey and pollen in some of the middle frames.

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Rader Sidetrack

· #6 · May 5, 2014

Installing a nuc is not quite like installing a package when it comes to feeding. The bee school may have expected that most newbees would be starting with packages, not nucs.

In my area there is currently a lot of nectar available for foraging, and I would expect that the same applies where you are. I think that the new nuc (and the old one) don't need constant feed at this point.

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VARyan

· #7 · May 6, 2014

Gotta agree with Rader. Last week I drove from Virginia to Wilmington then back north through Winterville and saw a pretty decent flow along all routes. I'm not positive, and too lazy to look it up, where your located to where I was.

I had a hive come out of winter this year queenless, and once they produced a queen they immediately swarmed because the hive was back filled. I thought they had plenty of room but the small flow we had at the time quickly filled them up which left not enough room for the new queen to lay. I suggest backing off feeding or keep more of an eye on them.

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dleemc1

· #8 · May 6, 2014

we have had a pretty good honey flow going on since back in the later part of march, I had my first swarm april the 5th, I bet they swarmed. for some reason it seems like I have had small swarms this year out of really strong hives, I mean even the prime swarms seem small. only had 2or 3 really big ones. but I like them all. I love fooling with swarms. I just put the 3rd hive body on that swarm I hived on april the 5th, but the first one was drawn comb, and they went to the apple orchards for 3 weeks. but I like them

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