My queenless hive is not queenless!!

annette · April 03, 2008, 01:19:34 PM

I totally blew it and I am embarrassed. Yesterday at around 3:15 Pm I went up to visit the hives and lo and behold, both hives were doing orientation flights. And I mean hundreds of bees orientating in front of both hives equally. The air was filled with bees from both hives. The landing board in my supposedly queenless hive was filled with energetic bees going in and out and foraging out like rockets. Now in order for there to be so many bees orientating, means they have a queen and have had one for some time.

Michael Bush and I believe it was Konasdad who told me they probably had a virgin queen in there and that's why no brood for such a long time. I was impatient and introduced a perfectly good queen into an already queenright hive.

I felt badly about losing this good queen, but MB put me straight on this one. He said "The bees waste a lot of queens insuring that they have a queen. You only wasted one trying to insure the same thing. I wouldn't feel to bad."

Also here is another quote from Michael Bush explaining the math to me. I felt it important to post this in case this happens to any of you beeks out there:

"It's a typical beginner mistake that I made a few times before I figured out the math. By the time a new queen is laying all the brood has emerged. I was under the impression that it took 16 days to get a new laying queen. That is not true. It only takes 10 days to get a queen from when they start (with a four day old larva) and then it takes another two weeks before she starts to lay. So the odds are when you see a "queenless" hive with no capped queen cells, that there IS a queen who emerged as long as two weeks ago and isn't laying yet."

I am very happy that that hive is now doing so well and will probably be ready for the honey flow which I believe is just now starting.

I at least learned from all this. I am so happy that both hives are now doing well and ready for the flow.

Thanks to all of you who helped me with advice and encouragement.
Annette

mgates61 · April 03, 2008, 01:32:12 PM

Glad to hear all is well. Keep up the good work.

Mike

annette · April 03, 2008, 07:19:24 PM

Thanks for the response Mike.

Annette

Kirk-o · April 03, 2008, 07:26:01 PM

Don't you just love Michael Bush's poop of Knowledge
kirk

annette · April 03, 2008, 07:45:14 PM

He has great instincts!!

Michael Bush · April 03, 2008, 08:52:25 PM

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfallacies.htm#nobroodnoqueen

DayValleyDahlias · April 03, 2008, 10:16:07 PM

I am looking forward to a happy ending ( beeginning ) like yours Annette, congrats!

tillie · April 03, 2008, 10:39:53 PM

Hooray! Annette! I'm glad it all worked out.

Personally, Michael Bush is my hero - I believe everything he says - we're all so lucky he'll take the time to give help.

Linda T in Atlanta

annette · April 03, 2008, 10:42:12 PM

Thanks Linda

I just enjoyed your last posting on your blog about the housekeeping bees. So funny it made me laugh!!!

Cindi · April 04, 2008, 12:39:20 AM

Annette, hooray!!!! That is the most beautiful and wonderful story, all good things take time. And yes, Linda, Michael Bush is a most wonderful learning tool in our forum, his website leaves nothing to the imagination, it is all there, clear, hard facts. We are so fortunate to have this available at our fingertips, yeah!!! A compliment to you, Mr. Bush.

Annette, your honeyflow you say is now beginning, and your bees are gonna be so ding dang happy, beautiful day in this great life. Cindi

annette · April 04, 2008, 12:42:15 AM

Thanks sweetie!!

Happy days are here again. For all of us!!

Annette

Ross · April 04, 2008, 07:17:13 AM

The easy way to test for a queen is a frame of eggs. Place frame of eggs in a "queenless" hive. If they start queen cells, they were queenless. If they don't, they have a queen.

annette · April 04, 2008, 12:54:03 PM

Quote from: Ross on April 04, 2008, 07:17:13 AM
The easy way to test for a queen is a frame of eggs. Place frame of eggs in a "queenless" hive. If they start queen cells, they were queenless. If they don't, they have a queen.

You are right about this. I gave them a frame of larvae in all shapes and sizes,but because I can never see the eggs I can never bee sure there were eggs on the frame. They did not make a queen cell. I was going to give them another frame, but found out I can purchase a mated queen from a beekeeper not to far from me, so I took a chance. (also I hated to once again disturb my one and only good hive looking through the frames for eggs - which I never can find anyway).

Good info to share Ross and I went out and purchased a magnifying glass, but found out when I went looking with the glass that I still could not see eggs unless I had the frame in the sun. And magnifying glasses and sun do not go together - you know what I mean.

Have a great day
Annette