I was expecting an email that she had shipped. Surprise! Oh well, spilled milk and all.
My problem is I haven't found the old girl yet. Just spent 2 hours until it got too dark too see trying to find her. :? I need the tricks!
These bees are on the larger end of the scale, so I don't know if the queen will be huge or blend in with them. I looked for the circle of bees facing each other, I looked for abdomens in the cells, I looked for long skinny, I looked for flashing lights that said here I am!!! still nothing. Took the hive apart frame by frame, looked them over as I set them out and then went back over them as I put it back together. Nothing but a lot of identical siblings.
What do I do if I can't find her? How can I help the new queen survive until I can get rid of the old one? :(
Anybody on tonight that can help? :)
O.K. deep breath and relax. I have kept the caged queen for over two weeks before putting into a hive. Now not that I wanted to or was doing an experiment on how long I would be able to keep her alive just something that happened to turn out that way. The attendants are the first to go but if you give em water and a little drop of honey each day you can keep them a while.
Now for finding the queen. You can probaly leave frames with capped brood for last and start looking on the frames with eggs. I use a extra box to put the frames in after inspecting them. When you have looked at the last frame start looking on the sides of the box and in the corners. I also hold the frame at a 45 degree angle to see past the workers and the queen stands out a little better.
It can be difficult if you have lots of bees. I usually have success by using very little smoke and place each frame in another body after inspection. Lots of light also helps.
I have heard that if you place a frame of brood from another hive in her hive, she will immediately come to check out the strange frame and smell. Never tried this.
Good Luck, Steve
Quote from: asprince on October 06, 2008, 09:14:23 PM
It can be difficult if you have lots of bees. I usually have success by using very little smoke and place each frame in another body after inspection. Lots of light also helps.
I have heard that if you place a frame of brood from another hive in her hive, she will immediately come to check out the strange frame and smell. Never tried this.
Good Luck, Steve
This will work and sometimes it induces an idle queen to start producing again, where the hive was never queenless, just idle.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesqueenspotting.htm
Whew, thanks. Okay, first thing first, how do I give them water? Dribble a little bit on the screen?
When you say at a 45 degree angle, do you mean the queen is taller than the workers?
I'm gonna try a couple more times before I take the other hive apart to help, but I definately keep it in mind.
To give them water I use my finger, run it under the faucet and rub it on the screen. Carefull not to put so much water that it runs into the cage but enough to smear on the screen. Do the honey the same way.
The 45 degree angle helps me see the length of her majesty stand out more.
Pay attention to the "very little smoke part". None is the best if possible.
I definately took note of the no/little smoke as I looked like an old fashion coal train taking off out there. :-D
Had to wait until Saturday to try to get her in the hive. Each day I would give them a little water and honey. Late Friday I checked on her only to find her dead along with 2 of the helper bees. :( I only had her for 4 days is it normal for them to die this soon??
Next time split the hive. The noisy side doesn't have a queen. Go ahead and introduce her to that box. You can recombine later when you find the old one.
Don't dribble water on the screen. Put ONE drop of water on the screen per day or at most one in the morning and one in the evening. If you dribble water on the screen the candy will melt and you will have a sticky mess and probably kill the queen.
I didn't dribble. I dipped my finger in water and rubbed on the screen. The candy was still intact.
When you say split the hive and the noisy side will be the one without the queen. At what point would I be able to tell the difference? Immediately, next day?
>When you say split the hive and the noisy side will be the one without the queen. At what point would I be able to tell the difference? Immediately, next day?
Usually in a few minutes. Within two hours for sure. But even then it's sometimes roaring before you open it and sometimes not until you open it.