Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: ChrisT on May 26, 2013, 02:53:57 pm
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Hello all,
My hive swarmed and so I caught it and put them in a medium box and the march in the box happened and they stayed in the box (no screened bottom board so its dark). I added a second medium to imitate a deep.
My problem is, I dont see any eggs and didnt see a queen. All they are doing is making honey and lots of it and its kind of spread out all over the place between the 2 mediums. This is my first swarm capture and im not sure of the typical behavior for a new hive. I usually get packages in a nuc.
Would they stay in the box without a queen? I set the [new] hive right next to my old one. Could they just be flying back and forth thinking they dont need a queen in that box? (maybe bc one is on the other box from whence they originally came)
My original hive is still chugging along, brood, honey, etc.. although at a much slower pace.
Thanks for any advice,
Chris
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how long ago did they swarm? i'm thinking maybe virgin queen or very newly mated and she just hasn't gotten going.
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Im sorry. I forgot to say that.. its been a week.
They swarmed last weekend and i caught them immediately after swarming
I thought the queen was supposed to start laying as soon as comb was built (assuming the orginal queen left with the swarm)
I know its been a very strange weather year here in GA so I hope its due to that.
My original hive didnt have too many drones becuase I had that hive for only a month before it swarmed.
This is my second year of trying to do this and Im very frustrated.
My first year's hive left last november - not swarmed - just left - due to some mysterious event - not one bee stayed - they left all their stuff.
Not even sure why this hive swarmed except that the ppl i bought the nuc from were having trouble getting hives up to split due to the weather and i think he crowded my nuc before giving it to me.
thanks again for any help
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you may have missed an earlier swarm and this was another. the first swarm goes with the old queen. after that, they go with whatever. you are less than a week out. give them a few more days and check again. take pictures if you can because you may be missing eggs. they can be hard to see.
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i wouldn't worry just yet. give them a frame of open brood today and tomorrow you can most likely find the queen hanging out there. if they're queenles they'll start some emergency cells.
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The same thing happened to me a few weeks back. I removed a small hive that had been there a week or two. I removed maybe a frame or a little more of comb but it was odd because there was no brood. The comb was all new and white wax and they had clearly been there a while but there was nothing but honey being put in the comb.
When I hived them they behaved just like every other colony I have hived. I put them in a five frame nuc and they stayed for a week and a half before absconding - I think due to ants, but throughout the whole deal they never did anything but put up honey. I had come to the conclusion that they had become queenless during their inititial swarming.
Old Blue
Where Jerry Brown has apparently figured out a way to tax hives right out of their queens. Either that or they were unable to pay their fees, taxes and get their permits and licenses. Only in..............
Kali-bone-ya
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The swarms leave with full honey bellies. If you put them on drawn comb they will fill the frames with honey. If they have no comb they will use the honey as fuel to create wax and draw comb. Give them more time. The queen needs to ramp up again.
Scott
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Thanks everyone
After everyone's suggestions, I am waiting a week to reserve judgement
I promise to post what happens so others will know.
I am hoping that the queen does indeed need to ramp up again
They dont seem agitataed or anything
The most docile bees I have ever seen
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I promised an update.
My new hive (swarm capture from original hive) finally is laying eggs
So they must have had a virgin queen who finally mated. there is larvae (no capped brood) so she must have laid sometime this past week.
YEA!
Thanks for the help/encouragement everyone
My original hive is still queenless (no eggs) but they still have queen cells in it.
Chris
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:-D
Happy to hear your report. I hived a swarm Sunday and I have no eggs yet but saw the queen today so hoping mine turns out just like yours.
Congratz
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Swarms take a couple of weeks to start showing brood. In some cases it is because it was a secondary swarm and needs to mate a queen, but in usual cases it takes time for the bees to cure out new comb before they will use it for brood. My experience is that they may keep new comb hanging and use if tfor honey storage, but not lay in it till it cures out, in maybe up to two weeks.