Author Topic: Can you help me to combine a laying worker hive??? (Read 14928 times)

golddust-twins · « **Reply #20 on:** June 20, 2008, 09:14:39 pm »

Glad to hear this may be working out for you Annette. I'm hoping it does for me too. I check my hive tomorrow to se if there is a queen cell.

Corinne

annette · « **Reply #21 on:** June 21, 2008, 12:05:24 am »

Corinne

Good Luck also. I am not sure if my hive will actually make it, but I feel good that I at least tried. With the drought we are having out here, I don't know that the hive can actually build up enough even if they make that queen. This is their last chance, then I combine.

Let me know how things progress for you also.

Sincerely
Annette

golddust-twins · « **Reply #22 on:** June 21, 2008, 01:24:52 pm »

Thanks Annette. You folks are having drought and we are just the opposite here. The weather gets nice and warm for a week then cools down and rainy. If I don't find a queen cell this afternoon I will give the hive one more chance and then combine also. This summer may be cool just like last summer.

Corinne

golddust-twins · « **Reply #23 on:** July 02, 2008, 10:52:48 am »

Annette, How did you hive come out? Did they make a new queen?

Corinne

annette · « **Reply #24 on:** July 02, 2008, 10:54:41 pm »

I checked on them last week really quickly to see if the queen cell had opened up. I did not find any evidence of the queen cell, so either she hatched and they broke down the cell, or she never hatched and they broke down the cell.

I am going in tomorrow and doing a through inspection of this hive to look for eggs. There should be some eggs by this time, I believe. If no eggs tomorrow, then the end is near for this hive.

I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for asking. How, by the way, is your laying worker hive doing???

Annette

Ross · « **Reply #25 on:** July 03, 2008, 10:21:48 am »

It can take up to 3 weeks for a virgin to mate and start laying. Give them another frame of eggs if you can. If they don't make another queen cell, you may have one.

golddust-twins · « **Reply #26 on:** July 03, 2008, 07:05:12 pm »

Annette, sorry to hear what is happening to your hive.
My hive had 3 weeks of open brood and nothing. I found an extra capped
queen cell on a frame with some brood in one of my other hives and
put it in the "Bad Girl Hive".
She
hatched and they killed her. I'd say it is time for me to call it quits with
this and dismantle it. Good luck with yours.
Corinne

annette · « **Reply #27 on:** July 03, 2008, 07:29:38 pm »

Quote from: Ross on July 03, 2008, 10:21:48 am

It can take up to 3 weeks for a virgin to mate and start laying. Give them another frame of eggs if you can. If they don't make another queen cell, you may have one.

I plan on waiting another week, then I will combine if I do not see any evidence of a queen. I have been messing with this hive for over 2 months now, and disrupting my one and only good hive to give them open brood. I truly want them to succeed, but I do not have enough hives around to keep helping them. I really appreciate your response Ross and love your posts. I can see that you have lots of experience with the bees.

Corinne, how do you know they killed her???

Good luck with the hive. I hear it is best to just shake the frames off in front of the other hives and they will drift into other hives. How do you plan on doing this??

Annette

Michael Bush · « **Reply #28 on:** July 03, 2008, 10:12:00 pm »

>if an unfertilized egg is placed in a queen cell, the workers will remove the egg.

If they didn't have frames of open brood from a queenright hive, I agree. But hopelessly queenless laying worker hive will try to raise a queen from drone eggs. I've seen it many times. Here's Huber's observations with a laying worker queen:

http://www.bushfarms.com/huber.htm#maleeggsinroyalcells

annette · « **Reply #29 on:** July 03, 2008, 10:49:32 pm »

Well like I said, next week is the final inspection for eggs, then I combine.

Thanks Michael and welcome back.

Annette

annette · « **Reply #30 on:** July 04, 2008, 05:33:58 pm »

Sad day for me. The laying worker hive has been run over with wax moths. I guess they just weren't strong enough to defend themselves.

I shook the remaining bee into a medium super and placed the remaining good frames with some nectar in there with them. Now I do have to combine. They are very weak obviously, small in numbers and I need to combine them tomorrow.

So my question is: I have 2 hives left. One very strong hive that is 5 medium supers high. And my package hive from May 17 that is also extremely strong and I just added the 3rd medium super to it.

Now I want to add this weak hive onto the top of the 3 layer hive. The hive has a whole super filled with honey and I just today gave them another super(making this 3 supers high) because they needed the room. So when I place this weak hive on top, do I just place one layer of newspaper between them??? Cutting a few slits of course. Then place the weak hive on top??? I read in this post that I need to make sure they do not have an upper entrance??

Let me know the best way to do this.

Thanks Annette

Brian D. Bray · « **Reply #31 on:** July 04, 2008, 06:50:43 pm »

Quote from: annette on July 04, 2008, 05:33:58 pm

Sad day for me. The laying worker hive has been run over with wax moths. I guess they just weren't strong enough to defend themselves.

I shook the remaining bee into a medium super and placed the remaining good frames with some nectar in there with them. Now I do have to combine. They are very weak obviously, small in numbers and I need to combine them tomorrow.

So my question is: I have 2 hives left. One very strong hive that is 5 medium supers high. And my package hive from May 17 that is also extremely strong and I just added the 3rd medium super to it.

Now I want to add this weak hive onto the top of the 3 layer hive. The hive has a whole super filled with honey and I just today gave them another super(making this 3 supers high) because they needed the room. So when I place this weak hive on top, do I just place one layer of newspaper between them??? Cutting a few slits of course. Then place the weak hive on top??? I read in this post that I need to make sure they do not have an upper entrance??

Let me know the best way to do this.

Thanks Annette

Add it too your "smaller" hive and use newspaper. I would expect that once combined the 4th box will be necessary.

Michael Bush · « **Reply #32 on:** July 04, 2008, 08:39:09 pm »

I would shake all the bees in front of the other hive, and freeze all the combs to kill the wax moths and then give them to a strong hive.

annette · « **Reply #33 on:** July 05, 2008, 01:22:51 am »

Quote from: Michael Bush on July 04, 2008, 08:39:09 pm

I would shake all the bees in front of the other hive, and freeze all the combs to kill the wax moths and then give them to a strong hive.

You mean give the combs to the strong hive after I freeze them?? You are saying shake them in front of my taller hive??? Or the smaller hive????
Why should I not combine with the other hive, is there a reason???

If I did shake them out on the ground would they drift into the hive or would most of them die on the ground??

Thanks for the reply
Annette

annette · « **Reply #34 on:** July 05, 2008, 01:24:04 am »

Quote from: Brian D. Bray on July 04, 2008, 06:50:43 pm

Quote from: annette on July 04, 2008, 05:33:58 pm
Sad day for me. The laying worker hive has been run over with wax moths. I guess they just weren't strong enough to defend themselves.

I shook the remaining bee into a medium super and placed the remaining good frames with some nectar in there with them. Now I do have to combine. They are very weak obviously, small in numbers and I need to combine them tomorrow.

So my question is: I have 2 hives left. One very strong hive that is 5 medium supers high. And my package hive from May 17 that is also extremely strong and I just added the 3rd medium super to it.

Now I want to add this weak hive onto the top of the 3 layer hive. The hive has a whole super filled with honey and I just today gave them another super(making this 3 supers high) because they needed the room. So when I place this weak hive on top, do I just place one layer of newspaper between them??? Cutting a few slits of course. Then place the weak hive on top??? I read in this post that I need to make sure they do not have an upper entrance??

Let me know the best way to do this.

Thanks Annette

Add it too your "smaller" hive and use newspaper. I would expect that once combined the 4th box will be necessary.

Thank you Brian

I may go this route, or just shake out. I imagine either way would work at this point.

Annette

annette · « **Reply #35 on:** July 05, 2008, 01:25:39 am »

One more question.

If I do combine,should I wait until evening when all the foragers are back? And do I need to close up the entrance on the laying worker hive, or can I give them a top entrance??

Ross · « **Reply #36 on:** July 06, 2008, 11:04:55 am »

I always allow an entrance on both parts of a combine. It's too easy to kill a hive without ventilation.

Cindi · « **Reply #37 on:** July 06, 2008, 12:20:24 pm »

Annette, you have had your fair share of that fiddle faddling with that colony eh? Wow. When I have done any uniting of colonies, this is what I do.

Take the inner cover and lid off the hive that the colony is going to be united with. Place a piece of newspaper on it, cut a couple of slits, place the colony you wish to unite on top, replace the inner cover and the lid. You are done. There should always be ventilation on the top of colonies, ALWAYS....this allows for moisture to escape the colony.

Any foragers will find their way to the new home, or they will go to another colony. They will find an entrance no matter where, they need to go home to unload their bellies and legs, hee, hee. A forager bee that is bringing home goodies for its colony will always be accepted by other colonies not their own because they are bringing in good stuff....they are important....they are not robbers that a colony would be fighting to keep out, they want these girls to come in and help build up stores, hee, hee.

Good luck girl, you have worked hard with this colony and now you must let it go. Have that most beautiful and awesome day, lovin' our wonderful lives, Cindi

annette · « **Reply #38 on:** July 06, 2008, 02:59:21 pm »

After all this trouble, I finally decided to shake them out on the ground in front of my strong hive. I did it this morning.There was a possibility that the frames they were on may also have had wax moth larvae hidden on them.

I did not want to take the chance and give those frames to a good hive which is making honey.

It went really well and the bees drifted into my strong hive and it looked like they were accepted. A very small cluster still went back to the original hive, but most of the bees were gone within 1/2 hour.

Wow!! That took up most of the summer trying to help that hive. Not sure if I will do that again.

I thank all of you for the help and support while I was experiencing this.

Love
Annette

JP · « **Reply #39 on:** July 06, 2008, 09:25:19 pm »

Quote from: annette on July 06, 2008, 02:59:21 pm

After all this trouble, I finally decided to shake them out on the ground in front of my strong hive. I did it this morning.There was a possibility that the frames they were on may also have had wax moth larvae hidden on them.

I did not want to take the chance and give those frames to a good hive which is making honey.

It went really well and the bees drifted into my strong hive and it looked like they were accepted. A very small cluster still went back to the original hive, but most of the bees were gone within 1/2 hour.

Wow!! That took up most of the summer trying to help that hive. Not sure if I will do that again.

I thank all of you for the help and support while I was experiencing this.

Love
Annette

I know in a way you have to be relieved of the stress factor in dealing with all that, now you can tap your shoes and get on with things.

...JP