queenless nuc ??

[bulldog]

i did a split into a nuc box hoping they would raise a queen. one hatched out and tore open all the other queen cells and killed them, but i can't find her or any sign of her. it's been a month now and i saw no larva. but my question is this, if they are indeed queenless would the foragers be bringing in pollen ? or is this a sign that she is alive and well and has begun or is about to begin laying ?

[indypartridge]

It's been a month now and I saw no larva. My question is this, if they are indeed queenless would the foragers be bringing in pollen ? or is this a sign that she is alive and well...?

Bringing in pollen is a generally good sign, but it's also what bees do. You can't take just one sign and make an absolute determination. If it's been a month and you don't have eggs/larva, I'd say you're queenless.

[Tommyt]

 I think indypartridge is correct
If you can't buy a queen can you give them some
eggs open brood?
If a month or more has passed, your going
to drop numbers real quick!
Bee life is fast furious,quick,short
6 weeks=Lights out

Good Luck

Tommyt

[Brian D. Bray]

The quick fix for your problem is to borrow a frame of brood from another hive.  Often a virgin queen will take some time to get motivated into laying, especially if the hive had backfilled the brood chamber during the time the queen was developed, hatched, and mated.  Putting the frame of brood in will usually prompt a new queen into laying.  It also allows the bees to develop a new queen from eggs in the brood frame.

Just 2 cautions, Make sure you use a frame of mixed eggs and capped brood, and very little, if any, drone cells on the frame chosen.  Let the drones come from adjacent hives or other local apiaries.

I had a hive this spring where the overwintered queen didn't start laying until I put a partial frame of brood from another hive in the center of the brood chamber.  Now it's the strongest hive I have here at my house.  I have stronger hives at my brothers.

[bulldog]

why do you want to limit the amount of drones ? i mean, i know they aren't needed but just wondering if there is some reason i am unaware of.

[Brian D. Bray]

why do you want to limit the amount of drones ? i mean, i know they aren't needed but just wondering if there is some reason i am unaware of.

If you're trying to nurse an ailing hive back to health the fact that there are no idle mouths to feed allows for more of the feed/forage to be directed towards the vitality of the hive, health of the adults and propogation of brood.