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Author Topic: Nucs with queen cells..  (Read 1797 times)

Offline sweet bee

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Nucs with queen cells..
« on: May 03, 2013, 01:23:50 am »
I have a couple of nucs with queen cells. What are the chances that they could develop laying workers before the queen emerges?  I'm fighting the urge to just run out and purchase queens (though it seems nearly impossible because no one around me has any at this time) The thought of letting them raise their own queens seems like such a gamble to me. SO.... could they/would they develop laying workers?  Is so, is there anything I could do to keep that from happening while waiting for "Her Majesty" to start laying?


Thank you :)
~Angie
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would
not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything You gave me"

~Erma Bombeck

Offline Finski

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Re: Nucs with queen cells..
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2013, 02:31:36 am »
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Changes are zero.  ovaries of worker bees start to swell in colonies which are desperately queenless. Queencells are very normal  to hive.
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Offline 10framer

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Re: Nucs with queen cells..
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2013, 11:43:09 am »
you should be ok but how did you end up with nucs with queen cells?  did you buy queenless nucs or did you do splits? 
the problem i've had this year has been getting queens mated.  every time i do split or graft a few cells  4 or 5 days after they emerge some kid of crazy weather sets in for a week and they never go on mating flights.  this is the first time i've ever had this much bad luck raising queens in my life. 

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Nucs with queen cells..
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2013, 01:29:33 pm »
>I have a couple of nucs with queen cells. What are the chances that they could develop laying workers before the queen emerges?

It's not how long it's queenless, it's how long it's broodless.  If they had open brood with the queen cells, there is no issue.  It takes about three weeks of broodlessness.
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Offline sweet bee

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Re: Nucs with queen cells..
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2013, 05:36:35 pm »
I found  4 or 5 queen cells in my largest hive. I took out 4 frames of bees & capped brood with queen cell and put it in a nuc. 
 
The 2nd one is a swarm we caught. We checked it a few days later but didn't find any evidence of a queen,  so I added a frame of brood with queen cell to it.   

The 3rd is a very large hive that swarmed (I assume)  There was plenty of honey and bees but I didn't find any queens cells or brood. I bought another queen to put in there and checked it about a week or two later and ALL I saw was drone brood! So I put a frame of open brood and a frame of capped brood with queen cell on it.   

All queen cells were placed about a week a half ago, so they should be emerging soon right???  ( I do have two other hives that are doing very well at the moment so. YAY!!! ;)

~Angie
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would
not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything You gave me"

~Erma Bombeck

Offline sweet bee

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Re: Nucs with queen cells..
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2013, 05:44:09 pm »
you should be ok but how did you end up with nucs with queen cells?  did you buy queenless nucs or did you do splits? 
the problem i've had this year has been getting queens mated.  every time i do split or graft a few cells  4 or 5 days after they emerge some kid of crazy weather sets in for a week and they never go on mating flights.  this is the first time i've ever had this much bad luck raising queens in my life. 

I've had a lot of trouble finding mated queens in my area! The apiaries are either sold out and won't take any more orders or won't be able to get them until the end of this month. :-\
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would
not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything You gave me"

~Erma Bombeck

Offline 10framer

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Re: Nucs with queen cells..
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2013, 07:31:49 pm »
you should be ok but how did you end up with nucs with queen cells?  did you buy queenless nucs or did you do splits? 
the problem i've had this year has been getting queens mated.  every time i do split or graft a few cells  4 or 5 days after they emerge some kid of crazy weather sets in for a week and they never go on mating flights.  this is the first time i've ever had this much bad luck raising queens in my life. 

I've had a lot of trouble finding mated queens in my area! The apiaries are either sold out and won't take any more orders or won't be able to get them until the end of this month. :-\

i just pulled up to my bee yard about an hour ago and the bees weren't flying.  now it's raining.  i'm about to punt and come back monday.  i'd offer to help but i can't get enough mated to cover my own needs and i've got some promised out.  i'm going to graft again monday so that should guarantee another month of rain and cool temperatures in georgia.