Strange thing with SBB

[Paperman]

Split a hive a month or so back.  Checked in to see how things were going.  Pulled the hive doen to look around.  Found a few queens cells so I figured I should get a look at her.  pulling frames and could not find an egg to save myself.  Hive looked strong and was easy to work.  Put it back together and grabbed a queen from a local.  Next day went to install queen adn found out why they were easy to work with out queen.  Found lots of capped cells adn eggs and every other product of a good queen, under the screened bottom board!!  Must be when the new queen went for her flight she missed the door and found her way to the bottom of the hive to start laying.  I will have to get pics.  Pretty crazy how they were building up comb under the hive in the open. 

[Michael Bach]

Had similar happen twice this year with virgins I think?

I did have a hive swarm and find the sbb.

The first time I saw this they had begun to draw comb under the sbb and the queen was laying.  I surmised the virgin queen idea and shook them back into the hive and removed the comb and closed the sbb for a few days.  I looked into the hive to make sure I shook in the queen and I saw here being attacked and killed by the hive........The hive never missed a beat and eggs were present a couple days later.....SO a two queen hive.  The bees under the sbb couple have been a swarm.

The second time I went about it all differently.  A different hive had the same thing.  A massive cluster of bess under the sbb.  Instead of shaking them to the hive I hived them in a new box.  Shook them in and saw the queen before I closed them up and fed them.  All was well with both hives and I came to the conclusion that it was a swarm that found the sbb.  This time there was no comb just bees.

SO......it could be a swarm or a misguided virgin.

[Tommyt]

Paperman
Glad you found her and brood,now what to do with the bought one ??
Hardwood has a video similar up on the bee removal page's.
It was nice size,I didn't do a search or would have posted the link
I see your new so if you want to see it.
Go to the advanced search and put "hardwood" as the user name
there will be a bunch and all good IMHO
I believe it look under the SBB in the header


Tommyt