Am I doing the right thing?

[qa33010]

I can't find the phone number to my local experienced beekeeper and I need to make sure I'm doing this right.
Thursday 21 July I got my first ever hive from a bee call. Left them alone until Saturday 30 July when I discovered no queen or eggs or open brood and queen cells (3 small capped and 1 larger uncapped). At that time I put in a top feeder instead of the open one I had. Tuesday 2 August peeked into top feeder and saw bees and a whole mess of ants. Killed off ants. 4 August the top feeder was empty and there were some ant carcasses (top is vented and an open sbb) but they seem to be getting them cleaned out and went back to open feeding. They started working something, with orange pollen east of me, and also dived into a pollen substitute sample I set down before them. Yesterday it rained WOO HOO! After church today there are still some ant carcasses and no stench or stink.
I had planned on going in and clean up, refill and seal in the top feeder today to keep out any more ants and put a pollen sub patty inside. But with the time frame, with a three day window, I was thinking about staying with open feeding until this Saturday and see if I have any eggs or open larvae and reduce chances of running off the hive. What do you think? If I wait and there are no eggs or brood I will have to requeen (see if Michael Bush has any left) fast. Thanks for your time folks! David

[Michael Bush]

>Thursday 21 July I got my first ever hive from a bee call.

A swarm?

> Left them alone until Saturday 30 July when I discovered no queen or eggs or open brood and queen cells (3 small capped and 1 larger uncapped).

So no brood but there are queen cells and 3 are capped?  If this is from swarm that would mean there must be a queen.  If this had some comb with brood in it, then they've made queen cells from those.

> At that time I put in a top feeder instead of the open one I had. Tuesday 2 August peeked into top feeder and saw bees and a whole mess of ants. Killed off ants.

A strong hive usually Doesn't have ants in the hive.  Are these just in the feeder?

> 4 August the top feeder was empty and there were some ant carcasses (top is vented and an open sbb) but they seem to be getting them cleaned out and went back to open feeding.

Open feeding outside the hive?

> They started working something, with orange pollen east of me, and also dived into a pollen substitute sample I set down before them.

From March until Septrember there is always pollen here where I live.  Sometimes as early as February and sometimes as late as October or November.  I only feed pollen in the really early spring.

>Yesterday it rained WOO HOO! After church today there are still some ant carcasses and no stench or stink.
I had planned on going in and clean up, refill and seal in the top feeder today to keep out any more ants and put a pollen sub patty inside. But with the time frame, with a three day window, I was thinking about staying with open feeding until this Saturday and see if I have any eggs or open larvae and reduce chances of running off the hive. What do you think?

Assuming a "bee call" is a swarm then I think they either had a queen who laid the eggs for the queen cells or they built them out of blind hope.  If the queen was a virgin, I'd expect it to take two weeks before she starts to lay.

What is the volume of bees?  How much room do they have?  Is it from a swarm?

> If I wait and there are no eggs or brood I will have to requeen (see if Michael Bush has any left) fast. Thanks for your time folks! David

It's now been two weeks since you got them.  Asumming it is a swarm and assuming a virgin queen you should have eggs NOW because it's been two weeks.  If you're good at seeing eggsI would search diligently for eggs and do something if you don't find them.  In five more days you should have larvae big enough to see easily.  If you don't see anything by then you definitely need to do something.

[qa33010]

Michael!
   Well I don't think they swarmed.  We thought we had the queen when we brushed the bees into the deep for the third time and they didn't go back to the house wall where we got them.  That's why I figured we either missed her or she was killed between there and my yard (about 10 miles).
There was no queen cells when we removed the comb originally.  That's why I figured we messed up.

Yes I feed out in the open.  I've been thinking about the modification Jon McFadden had spoke of for a boardman style feeder.  

The ants were inside the hive only the first day after that just the top feeder.  They are very aggressive of any critter getting on the box, other than me, and do a great job running them off.  The guard bees check out ALL arrivals.    

The volume is about the same size, between a softball and a Soccer ball size.

I figured if the eggs were laid just before we showed up it has now been 20 days as of this Tuesday morning.  Or if the eggs hatched that evening or Friday then this is day 23 and (would the mating flights be over by now?) there are eggs and hopefully first day larvae.  I haven't a clue, really, what to look for since I've never been shown in real life.  But by golly I'll take a shot at it.  I just don't want to lose them from absconding or otherwise.  

We have just been exceptionally dry this year since the drought started about a month early and other than a couple very brief showers we have been waterless with burn bans.  Thanks Michael!   I appreciate it.
                       David

[qa33010]

Oh I'm sorry I forgot one.  The bee call was someone wanting us to
get the hive out of their house before the leveled it.  They just wanted the bees to live.  Thanks again!  David

I got into the colony today and as unskilled as I am I got excited when I saw a drone, until I realized it was a drone.  My son got to see it also and got a kick out of it.  Here's what I saw.  The bees are chained together and making comb both on their comb that came with them and on the starter strips.  There is sugar water and suprisingly honey.  I am going to wait until Saturday and see if I can see any larvae, hopefully our experienced beekeeper will have contacted me and I can get him over to edumacate me.  All the capped brood is hatched and they are drinking the syrup as well as going after some nectar and some pollen somewhere east of me.  I cleaned out the top feeder and am ready to put that back with more syrup, I want them to get that comb out.  I didn't see a queen or eggs, but I may have missed them, and there are plenty of cells available for laying in the center of the deep.  The amount of bees now is about a basketball size.  What do you think?  Is this a good plan or do I need to tweak it?  Thanks!

[qa33010]

Well I went in today. Not for this reason, but to make sure that no outsider bees had entered.  I found new comb being built on the center frame (I thought it had drawn comb) starter strips.  That's where I found what I believe are eggs.  Very small but visible.  Some were on the bottom center and a couple were on the sides.  No multiples and didn't see a queen but the girls are working like mad with nectar and pollen.  I used no smoke and they seem to like me alot better today than on days I smoked them.  Since she seems to be learning I am going to wait and see.  The center frame is about an eighth drawn out and that is the only place I found eggs.  
   Since their numbers are so low and they are working like there is no tomorrow I added a Bee Pro pollen substitute patty which they pounced on immediately.  They are bringing in pollen (yellow added today) and nectar with one frame full of trumpet vine honey and nectar.  I plan on adding candy or the top feeder to help them also with another patty if needed.  Am I doing too much?  David

[Michael Bush]

>Since their numbers are so low and they are working like there is no tomorrow I added a Bee Pro pollen substitute patty which they pounced on immediately.

Pollen substitute is very inferior to pollen and will make very inferior bees that won't live as long.  This time of year having long lived bees is critical to getting through the winter.  I wouldn't use pollen substitute when there is pollen available.

>They are bringing in pollen (yellow added today) and nectar with one frame full of trumpet vine honey and nectar. I plan on adding candy or the top feeder to help them also with another patty if needed. Am I doing too much?

Yes.  Feed, if you can do so without setting off robbing, but skip the pollen substitute.  Unless you have real pollen to feed, let them GET real pollen.  And even IF you have real pollen fresh is much more nutritious.