wandering queen

AndersMNelson · March 13, 2008, 11:46:05 PM

Does anyone know what it means to see a queen wandering around comb by herself?

Jerrymac · March 14, 2008, 12:16:27 AM

She wants some "me" time? Are there still bees in the hive?

bassman1977 · March 14, 2008, 12:33:13 AM

I had that happen to a hive that didn't have a queen for a long time. The queen that was wondering was a replacement. She never took and I had to combine (she was completely ignored). Don't go jumping the gun off of that though...wait for some other comments because I don't know what happened there either. My guess is that there was a laying worker.

Brian D. Bray · March 14, 2008, 01:41:47 AM

Quote from: bassman1977 on March 14, 2008, 12:33:13 AM
I had that happen to a hive that didn't have a queen for a long time. The queen that was wondering was a replacement. She never took and I had to combine (she was completely ignored). Don't go jumping the gun off of that though...wait for some other comments because I don't know what happened there either. My guess is that there was a laying worker.

Good guess. Either that or they are in the process of supercedure and just let the old lady wander off on her own.

Michael Bush · March 14, 2008, 07:50:01 AM

She's obviously not being treated as the queen. Virgins often aren't. Old queens that have been superseded are not.

AndersMNelson · March 14, 2008, 01:47:57 PM

I did do a combination, but the hive I added was super small, and there didn't appear to be a queen. The hive that I added to had an okay queen that had already started laying in a small, but tight brood pattern. Should I eliminate the queen and add a fresh one?

bassman1977 · March 14, 2008, 01:54:06 PM

QuoteThe hive that I added to had an okay queen that had already started laying in a small, but tight brood pattern.

How long has she been like that? Perhaps she's a slow starter? If she has been like that a long time, I would replace her, but if not, then I wouldn't replace her just yet. Since it's early in the year, I would monitor her production for a little while.

AndersMNelson · March 14, 2008, 04:26:07 PM

This is her second year, and that was the second time I opened the hive. I'm not sure how long that queen has been wondering, but I will note that she was on foundationless comb frame with no brood. The frame next to it had about a 6x6 inch brood pattern. I don't want to miss the upcoming flows with a low population!

Kathyp · March 14, 2008, 06:48:23 PM

did you check all the way thought to see if you have queen cells, or even another queen? maybe more brood farther down in the hive?

AndersMNelson · March 14, 2008, 09:13:55 PM

There is a deep under the one with the brood that has mostly pollen and a little honey, no brood. I didn't see any queen cells.

Michael Bush · March 14, 2008, 10:04:12 PM

I'd give them some time to sort it out. Your interfering may just set them back more. My guess is they are resolving the problem. They wouldn't be ignoring her if they didn't have it under control.

AndersMNelson · March 15, 2008, 01:24:58 AM

Cool, thanks for the input.