Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: ArmucheeBee on January 20, 2009, 12:27:52 pm

Title: What to do with a queen?
Post by: ArmucheeBee on January 20, 2009, 12:27:52 pm

I have a queen who is down to only about 10-12 workers.  Any suggestions on what I can do?  No one around me has a need to replace an old queen.  Any way to keep her alive until the spring when I may get a swarm to add her to?

Title: Re: What to do with a queen?
Post by: Michael Bush on January 20, 2009, 08:32:09 pm

Unless you can get some bees somewhere (a few from a strong hive maybe?) they will not be able to get going again.

Title: Re: What to do with a queen?
Post by: IndianaHoney on January 23, 2009, 12:26:12 am

If this queen is in a hive, you can bring her and the workers inside in a closed up nuc box. As MB said, they won't be able to get going again without more bees. But if she makes it to spring by some chance, you could give her a couple frames of bees and brood.

However you have to question why she is down to 10-12 workers. Was there a disease of some kind? Did you find dead bees? If not this could be a case of CCD and you may not want to save them (except for research). Maybe she has bad genetics, etc.

Title: Re: What to do with a queen?
Post by: JP on January 23, 2009, 06:55:53 am

Quote from: ArmucheeBee on January 20, 2009, 12:27:52 pm

I have a queen who is down to only about 10-12 workers.  Any suggestions on what I can do?  No one around me has a need to replace an old queen.  Any way to keep her alive until the spring when I may get a swarm to add her to?

Place her in a vile and use her for swarm lure. She sounds inferior or old.


...JP

Title: Re: What to do with a queen?
Post by: ArmucheeBee on January 23, 2009, 09:18:46 am

She's probably not inferior. 
She came from a cutout in September, we were in a drought, and it was the dearth.  So they never had time to get built up.  She was a good layer even in the fall so I'd like to keep her and the potential feral genetics she has.

Title: Re: What to do with a queen?
Post by: JP on January 23, 2009, 02:44:47 pm

Quote from: ArmucheeBee on January 23, 2009, 09:18:46 am

She's probably not inferior. 
She came from a cutout in September, we were in a drought, and it was the dearth.  So they never had time to get built up.  She was a good layer even in the fall so I'd like to keep her and the potential feral genetics she has.

I see. Good luck with her, just maybe she'll survive til spring, then you could do a two frame nuc with brood added to get her kick started with some backup support.


...JP

Title: Re: What to do with a queen?
Post by: ArmucheeBee on January 23, 2009, 04:32:37 pm

Thanks for all the info.  I got a frame of bees/honey from a friend yesterday.  I'll check to see if they have freed her after work today.  Now my other queen is getting down to just a few workers, so I'll have to do the same thing for her.  I'm ordering some packages and starting early this year!  No more late season cutouts unless I add them to other hives.  Learning, learning, and learning.