[knpeterson]

Earlier this week I checked a hive that had some supercedure cells that should have hatched. I couldn't find the old queen but I did find a beautiful fat black queen and the bees were fawning all over her and she actually had just started laying. I was pleased. I also added a second deep.
A few minutes ago I check them for progress and cannot find the queen or any eggs but there is a lot of drone brood. There is normal looking drone cells (big bubble) and the other capped brood are raised more than usual, not as flat as my other hives. Are these early drone cells? As they grow in the cell do they build them up to the bubble shape? If so, then my pretty new supercedure queen is (was) a drone layer. I know I didn't squish her after I had checked them last. My issue is that the hive already has several queen cells made. These were made from the missing queen's eggs. Should I let them raise a queen from her eggs since she obviously wasn't any good or should I cut them out and give them a frame from my other hive to make a new queen from that? I don't think I have a laying worker, there are no eggs. They didn't let her lay much (about one frame total) I know the slightly raised cells were her's b/c I saw her lay in them.

 

[Troy]

relax.... Don't intervene until you are sure there IS a problem.

 

[knpeterson]

I went ahead an broke and ordered a queen from Mikes bees and honey. I said I'd never buy a queen but I don't want to wait another month for a laying queen and Mike says he doesn't treat his bees. I just planted two acres of buckwheat and my plan was to have them built up enough to get a little fall buckwheat honey.

 

[Deadeye351]

I am willing to bet that was $20 wasted, but when in doubt spend money ....At least the $ didn't go to China.

 

[knpeterson]

I don't know. There were eggs in there a week ago and now there are none and about 4-5 queen cells. I can find a queen and she's not there. I just didn't know if I should let them raise a queen from her eggs. She sure was pretty though. It sucks b/c she just got started laying. The queen she superceded was the orginal queen with the swarm and she was starting to fail. I just haven't seen this much drone brood in my hives before and the other capped brood is more raised than that of other hives.

 

[mike haney]

1."...early drone cells? As they grow in the cell do they build them up ..."
they do not "grow". drones look like .22 caliber bullets,workers are slightly raised, honey is flat.
2. "... I know I didn't squish her ..."
thats impossible to tell, and if not "squished" she may only be SLIGHTLY sub par, which is also impossible to tell.
3."...Should I let them raise a queen from her..."
how about a divide-one nuc with her eggs, one with the new queen. choose the best queen,squish the other and do a newspaper combine.