Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: bud1 on October 02, 2007, 08:57:55 pm

Title: queens keep disapearing
Post by: bud1 on October 02, 2007, 08:57:55 pm
 I am new to this game, had five hives last yr. and fire ants got all but one, This yr. I bought 5 russian nukes. and caught around 40 swarms. Some took off and small ones were combined. every time I checked there would be a coupla queenless hives and I would give eggs from another.
today caught coupla small swarms ( just a hand full) and checking hives 2 queen less, one full of drone brood-- dumped the 2 small swarms in after spraying both with sugar water.
got coupla hundred acres of golden rod and salt cedar just blooming, no stores, put out 15gal of 2-1 syrup about half way between my 2 wagons that I have my hives on except for the top bars which have given me no trouble. any one got any idea why I keep loosing queens
bought 5 queens from purvis bro. and they have done no better-- out of 30 hives, got 5 doing fair, nothing good---any advice appreciated
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Michael Bush on October 03, 2007, 07:57:44 am
I don't know about there, but it's been a pretty dismal year for nectar here.  We are in our fall dearth now and have been for a month, even though the goldenrod is blooming and even though we've been getting adequate rain during that month.  I don't know why there's no nectar, but I'm feeding and the bees are in a feeding frenzy now.
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: bud1 on October 04, 2007, 05:49:02 am
thanks for the reply, but as you raise queens, would you by chance have an idea how I might prevent the loss of so many queens?
I check and hive fula brood and coupla weeks later nothing as far as brood--I have given eggs to atleast ten hives this summer not counting the 2 the other day
Title: Re: queens keep disappearing
Post by: TwT on October 04, 2007, 07:02:37 am
so you say you have laying queens and then they are gone? when you put frames from other hives in do they draw out cells every time? are you steady feeding? is the brood nest open and not honey bound? how the weather there?
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Michael Bush on October 04, 2007, 08:11:18 am
>thanks for the reply, but as you raise queens, would you by chance have an idea how I might prevent the loss of so many queens?

I wish.  I think the dearth is your problem.  When there is a dearth the bees don't want to make so many queen cells, which means the odds of one emerging are less.  Then the queen doesn't want to fly in a dearth (I don't know why) so she may not get mated in time to not be a drone layer.  Then they don't seem to make it back as well (maybe that's why they don't want to fly in a dearth) and if they do and they turn out to be drone layers often the bees will dispatch them.

And all of that is assuming they don't hit a windshield, get eaten by a dragonfly, a swallow or a martin.

And then we have them back and laying and they seem to be more likely to try to replace them if they blame the queen for anything that's going wrong and then you have all those risks for the replacement...
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Brian D. Bray on October 04, 2007, 07:47:53 pm
To add to what MB just said:  There is also the senerio where the queens stop laying because there is not enough nectar to feed the hive let alone raise brood.  This senerio is often mistaken for queenlessness.  If dearth is a problem in your area (as it has been in mine) I would suggest feeding for a week or 10 days with 1:1 and see if the inactive queen startes laying again before assuming the hive is queenless.  During a dearth the hive will dwindle away if there is not enough food to survive.  Also a limited flow will only delay the decline. 

This year my packaged hives started fine but soon arrested development due to dearth.  I am going into winter with my hives 1/2 the size I wanted them and have been feeding them for a month now just to build up enough stores to fill the equivalent of 1 10 frame deep.
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Michael Bush on October 04, 2007, 08:36:02 pm
>There is also the senerio where the queens stop laying because there is not enough nectar to feed the hive let alone raise brood.

Yes.  That too.
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: bud1 on October 04, 2007, 09:02:11 pm
Mr twt, DRY; -20inches here, feed to start with, clover for the swarms that I caught, then to a 400ac. cotton field. left them too long wating for bloom here and only gor 5gal honey.lost them at the clover on the cotton now here on golden rod  plenty polen no nectar even though had coupla showers, and one rain in last 3 weeks
Mical,not much chance for a windshield here, but looks like where ever I go them little old barn swallows show up. I usually get results from the eggs,but had to buy 5 to get those hives going befor cotton
I sure have been trying to sop up all you put out about queens if that hardison method will work for me, sho gona have me some in reserve by early spring-- got me some wax foundation hopefully being drawn now.
still have 28 going, couple week that just chunked a coupla small swarms in to re queen.
Mr brian, all deeps but 3 topbar(no problems). as of tuesday feeding, going good with 2 feeders, one at ten hive wagon being ignored, even stired in some anice, and rubed top with honey--not the first bee and been 2 days
shore appreciate youalls adv.
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: TwT on October 04, 2007, 09:14:03 pm
bud, its been dry to the bone here also, the main thing that has slowed me way down on raising queens this year was lack of drones, when it got dry and they went into the dearth they evicted all drone and didn't raise any, are these queens you are losing (bought or you raising them yourself?)
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: bud1 on October 04, 2007, 09:41:41 pm
only bought 5----2 of those gone by the wayside; thinking back,4 gone only got one of the russians left. didn't know how to raise the queens, but you sure can bet yo boots I been reading everything I can come onto  here and beesource about queens.
sure gona try next spring.
When I see something wrong (in my opinion) and what I have soped up from others on  the internet) I would just add brood making sure I had eggs and young larva- I know I lost a lot of time wating for queens to do their thing, but trying to learn all I could, and As I stated earlier, caught lots of swarms, was a time no bees could be seen in this area now coming back and I am trying to have mine from this areas survivors
Havent seen but a few drones in the langs, but my topbars runith over wid the suckers and the langs are only half a mile away  as of the last 3 weeks and have one within coupla hundred yards of 15 hive wagon
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Cindi on October 04, 2007, 10:34:55 pm
Brian, sorry a little off topic, but if I don't write now, I will forget.  How far south are you from Vancouver?  I thought you were pretty close.  You keep speaking of a dearth, why is this so?  We have so much cool, wet weather this year that eveything is growing like a tropic rain forest, why would you be so different in your climate?  Don't get it.  Have a wonderful day, best of our great life. Cindi
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Brian D. Bray on October 04, 2007, 11:05:01 pm
Cindi,

I live almost 50 miles directly east of Victoria on Fidalgo Island.  All of the San Juan Islands have experienced a dearth this summer whereas most of the mainland just a few miles away has not.  The same winds that come down the slots between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Pennisula and between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland and blow my behives over occassionally also keeps the Islands in somewhat of a Banana Belt.  We get markedly more sun and less rain than areas just 10 miles away.  The San Juans have some very unique weather patterns because of their geographic location and the fact that they are islands.  In some ways the San Juans could almost be considered subtropical.
Title: Re: queens keep disapearing
Post by: Cindi on October 05, 2007, 10:58:00 am
Brian, good, thanks, this thing, Mother Nature, she has her ways, amazing how just a few miles can make the difference between moisture and dryness.  Have a wonderful day, beautiful life.  Cindi