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I have had trouble with this hive swarming this year.
1st signs of swarm I made a split and installed a new queen in the old hive. Split w/ original queen is doing great.
Must have released the new queen and swarmed - she is gone. I think the hive may have swarmed a third time, hive population is now about a nuc or split size. 06/28/03 seen a new queen some 1 day eggs. When I was pulling the frames I seen the/a new queen she was beautiful a very light golden color. She jumped off the frame a fluttered to the grass besides the hive. I of coure panicked slowly put the frame baack into the hive and with my brush was chasing the queen from grass clump to grass clump. Amazingly I was able to catch her very gentle of course and put her back on to the top of one of the frames. She run imediatly down into the depths of the hive and away from the light. On the frame before her was a capped queen cell. About the time that I brushed her back on to the frames I was being called away to take care of some other business. I just had time to shut the hive back up.
Question - Will the queen that I saw distroy the capped queen? I have read that the first queen that emerges will sting the other queens through the cell. What are some possible explanations for this queens behavior - why did she jump/fly off the frame?
And to top it all off it is raining agian today... I guess I won't have any honey this year either. I did notice that both of the hive are eating what was stored, my guess is because of the rain.
1st signs of swarm I made a split and installed a new queen in the old hive. Split w/ original queen is doing great.
Must have released the new queen and swarmed - she is gone. I think the hive may have swarmed a third time, hive population is now about a nuc or split size. 06/28/03 seen a new queen some 1 day eggs. When I was pulling the frames I seen the/a new queen she was beautiful a very light golden color. She jumped off the frame a fluttered to the grass besides the hive. I of coure panicked slowly put the frame baack into the hive and with my brush was chasing the queen from grass clump to grass clump. Amazingly I was able to catch her very gentle of course and put her back on to the top of one of the frames. She run imediatly down into the depths of the hive and away from the light. On the frame before her was a capped queen cell. About the time that I brushed her back on to the frames I was being called away to take care of some other business. I just had time to shut the hive back up.
Question - Will the queen that I saw distroy the capped queen? I have read that the first queen that emerges will sting the other queens through the cell. What are some possible explanations for this queens behavior - why did she jump/fly off the frame?
And to top it all off it is raining agian today... I guess I won't have any honey this year either. I did notice that both of the hive are eating what was stored, my guess is because of the rain.