Can't keep a hive queened

Potlicker1 · June 02, 2010, 10:18:00 PM

Ok i've tryed everything I can think of. Here's my problem. I came out of winter with a queenless hive. My first attempt was to drop in a frame of egg/brood to allow them to produce there own lady. No luck. Everything hatched out, no queen. Next, two frames with egg/brood. Same result. Third attempt, introduce a new queen. She released successfully but after a week she was no where to be found. Last attempt was to take the hive 50 yards away, set down a nuc in it's place with everything happening in it and shake out the bees from the original colony. Most all flew back to the now queened hive. A week later, no evidence of her. An additional comment-no laying worker as in drone brood, just a lot of bees with no leader. Not sure what the hec to do?? :?

riverrat · June 03, 2010, 12:23:16 AM

i think i would go thru the hive and see if you cant find an injured queen it just takes something as simple as one front leg missing or injured to keep her from laying

Potlicker1 · June 03, 2010, 04:31:18 PM

I've been through it several times. I would think if she was injured they would have begun emergency cells with the eggs I gave them awhile ago.

riverrat · June 03, 2010, 06:54:43 PM

not necessarily if you have a queen that may be injured or did not get mated because of weather she may be putting out her pheromones. remember bees dont read the same books we do. If you have a virgin unmated queen she may be hard to find in a hive since she would be much smaller than a mated queen. you might try shaking the bees out into another deep with a queen excluder on top to see if you can find a queen. if you introduced 3 frames of brood and a queen with no luck and there has been no laying worker i would almost have to say there is a queen in there somewhere

Nathen · June 03, 2010, 07:00:58 PM

Quote from: riverrat on June 03, 2010, 06:54:43 PM
If you have a virgin unmated queen she may be hard to find in a hive since she would be much smaller than a mated queen. you might try shaking the bees out into another deep with a queen excluder on top to see if you can find a queen. if you introduced 3 frames of brood and a queen with no luck and there has been no laying worker i would almost have to say there is a queen in there somewhere

Will a queen excluder work with a virgin queen?

riverrat · June 03, 2010, 07:05:22 PM

it might or it might not a virign queen isnt much bigger than a worker but it may give you a chance to see her before she slips thru. If you shook out the bees and put a nuc in its place the bees flying back would more than likely start fighting and that may explain why the queen was injured or killed. im still thinking you have a queen in there

bailey · June 03, 2010, 10:37:11 PM

i can tell you from experience an excluder used as an includer can trap and hold 6 virgin queens :-X ;)
bailey

JP · June 04, 2010, 01:42:01 AM

Quote from: bailey on June 03, 2010, 10:37:11 PM
i can tell you from experience an excluder used as an includer can trap and hold 6 virgin queens :-X ;)
bailey

Yep, that was one of my new hives Bailey speaks of! Something must of happen to the queen perhaps in transit and this particular colony made several queen cells but I just happened to have an excluder on and lo and behold Bailey and I discovered at least six virgins, all stuck in the excluder, half in half out.

I felt awful, just awful, but the proof was certainly there, that excluders prevent virgins from leaving the hive.

...JP

bailey · June 04, 2010, 12:46:50 PM

oops, sorry jp :-D

just wanted to poke ya a bit :evil:

all bs aside the excluder will stop a virgin!!
beware!

we may have made a mistake but the proof will help others to use excluders / with caution!
they can be very counterproductive.

JP · June 04, 2010, 05:50:20 PM

Quote from: bailey on June 04, 2010, 12:46:50 PM
oops, sorry jp :-D

just wanted to poke ya a bit :evil:

all bs aside the excluder will stop a virgin!!
beware!

we may have made a mistake but the proof will help others to use excluders / with caution!
they can be very counterproductive.

Maybe we should start a thread about all the screw ups we've had concerning bees. It would most likely be a long winded thread. Its all good if we can learn from our mistakes. What's that saying, "If you aren't making mistakes you're not learning?"

...JP

Xperiment · June 04, 2010, 09:51:50 PM

Quote from: Potlicker1 on June 02, 2010, 10:18:00 PM
Ok i've tryed everything I can think of. Here's my problem. I came out of winter with a queenless hive. My first attempt was to drop in a frame of egg/brood to allow them to produce there own lady. No luck. Everything hatched out, no queen. Next, two frames with egg/brood. Same result. Third attempt, introduce a new queen. She released successfully but after a week she was no where to be found. Last attempt was to take the hive 50 yards away, set down a nuc in it's place with everything happening in it and shake out the bees from the original colony. Most all flew back to the now queened hive. a week later, no evidence of her. An additional comment-no laying worker as in drone brood, just a lot of bees with no leader. Not sure what the hec to do?? :?

Maybe your hive are Shakers and have given up sexual reproduction altogether? You'll just have to respect their decision to die out rather than violate their religious precepts.

yrs,
xperiment

Potlicker1 · June 05, 2010, 06:40:17 PM

Not quite sure if your making a funny with the Shaker comment but I have at this point been reduced to just leaving them for awhile. I guess the egg laying will start or the bees will get old and die.

riverrat · June 05, 2010, 06:42:10 PM

you might be suprised at how long a queenless hive can hang on let us know how it works out