How long do I have to requeen a hive?

Grizzly8119 · September 14, 2011, 06:57:41 PM

So I did a cut out about two weeks ago and wasn't sure if I got the queen. Well after two weeks they have been making comb and doing what they need to but when I looked no queen. I have a queen coming in the mail as we speak but my question is is it too late for the hive? Have they been without the queen for too long

psbeekeeper · September 14, 2011, 07:08:03 PM

You should be fine. Mine went queenless and I didn't see laying workers until about a month of being queenless (no eggs/larvae/brood).

Hemlock · September 14, 2011, 07:11:11 PM

To long for what?

How many boxes (deeps or med's) do these bees occupy?

How many frames of drawn comb do they have (including what they came out of the cut out with)?

Have they bee gathering pollen & nectar?

Grizzly8119 · September 14, 2011, 07:23:41 PM

Just if there would be some sort of problem due to there being any queen. They have maybe one and half of comb. And I wasn't able to get any of their comb from the cut out. But I am feeding them their own honey back so that way it's not a total loss for them

Grizzly8119 · September 14, 2011, 07:27:21 PM

Also can I just put in a candy plug and let them eat her out or do I need to leave the cork in for a few days before putting in the candy plug

BjornBee · September 14, 2011, 08:04:54 PM

Read the second paragraph under "shaking out a laying worker colony".

http://www.bjornapiaries.com/badbeekeeping.html

Hemlock · September 14, 2011, 08:11:05 PM

Pull the cork, leave the candy plug.

If there's a queen in there they'll fight or the workers will ball the new queen. Thats what the brood check is for.

Did you mean 1½ boxes or frames?

Grizzly8119 · September 14, 2011, 08:29:10 PM

Yeah one and a half and I have no brood. All they have done is make honey comb and have been filling it with the honey I have been feeding

Bee-Bop · September 16, 2011, 06:47:24 PM

Did You say this new Queen was bred or unbred, big thing, this time of year.

Bee-Bop

JP · September 16, 2011, 08:42:01 PM

Quote from: Grizzly8119 on September 14, 2011, 08:29:10 PM
Yeah one and a half and I have no brood. All they have done is make honey comb and have been filling it with the honey I have been feeding

It sounds to me like they are in survival mode. I have seen this many times before. If you don't have a laying worker they should accept the new queen outright.

Best of luck!

...JP