[Capricorn]

Yesterday I did an inspection on a split I've been limping along. I saw a few dozen cells with large larva in them, so they have been there less then 8 or 9 days? The hive has close to 2 full frames of girls, and they are filling 3 or 4 frames with nectar. I don't see eggs anywhere. There are two open queen cells on the side of one frame in the middle. I have transferred frames with eggs, larva, capped cells twice now from my strong hive. The frame with the open queen cells was transferred and I'm not sure if they were there before or not. The last transfer of a frame was around 21 days ago. Any one got any advice or idea whats going on here? If they cap them as drones in a few days is it a laying worker? Could it be a queen just starting to lay? We have had intermittent cold and wet weather until just the last week or so in my little valley, so I'm guessing my hives are playing catch up?

 

[WI-beek]

Can you add a few details?

How long ago did you make the split?

Did you introduce a queen?

Did you expect them to make there own Queen?

Queen cells you speak of: was this the frame that you put in 21 days ago?

Are these larva you see in a gunshot (shot gun bird-shot) pattern or in a tight cluster with few cells in area missing larva?

If you added the frame of eggs/young larva 21 days ago you would expect a queen to emerge somewhere around 13 days give or take a couple. Then with good mating weather you hope to see brood in two weeks from her. It can take up to a month if there is poor weather for her to fly and mate.

Hope this helps. Please answer questions. I think they will help with advice.

 

[Capricorn]

Can you add a few details?

How long ago did you make the split?

Did you introduce a queen?

Did you expect them to make there own Queen?

The start of the split is detailed here: http://beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240631

It was intended to be an even walk away split, but wasn't quite. Twice I've added a single frame of eggs / larva / brood / stores to the weak hive. The second time was about 3 weeks ago, which was about 3 weeks after the first time.

Queen cells you speak of: was this the frame that you put in 21 days ago?

Yes, thinking back I think there was at least one open queen cell on it already. It was half way up the frame, on one side. Supercedure? The last time I added a frame of eggs / larva / bees was about 21 days ago.

Are these larva you see in a gunshot (shot gun bird-shot) pattern or in a tight cluster with few cells in area missing larva?

A tight cluster, about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. I looked around for a queen, but I'm not good at spotting them yet. I look for a circle of attendants, and a bigger rear end, but I still never see her.. My 8 year old can spot them a mile away though, go figure... Most of the active area covered by bees is full of cells half full of nectar. However there are 5 other drawn combs that are empty with no bees... I couldn't spot any eggs, just the larva..

If you added the frame of eggs/young larva 21 days ago you would expect a queen to emerge somewhere around 13 days give or take a couple. Then with good mating weather you hope to see brood in two weeks from her. It can take up to a month if there is poor weather for her to fly and mate.

Until this last week, we only had a handful two non-rainy, above 60 days in a row. Now it seems like summer is actually here.. It messed with our crops, so I'm sure it messed with our bees... Sounds like maybe I'm OK and I should wait and see?

Hope this helps. Please answer questions. I think they will help with advice.

It helps immensely. Thank you much for taking the time to get back to me. This forum can be a good resource! I should probably find a local mentor though I recon :doh: The queen right hive looks great though. I moved a medium of new, empty, foundationless onto it and the girls are currently pulling 6 of the frames out...

 

[Capricorn]

Any other input on this?

 

[mike haney]

to small of a start to build up enough to overwinter. be prepared to combine'em in the fall.
good luck,mike

 

[Capricorn]

to small of a start to build up enough to overwinter. be prepared to combine'em in the fall.
good luck,mike

Yeah, I've been thinking about that too.. I was thinking maybe I can build them up enough to try overwintering them in a nuc?

 

[mike haney]

you can try, and i wish you luck. i cant speak about your local weather, but i would suspect it to be tough on overwintering bees. they need enough stores and most important need a certain volume of bees to generate sufficient warmth- all winter. many will die of old age so that must be added to the initial volume as well.
good luck,mike