BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING

Ready to swarm or orientation flight

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BeeMaster2:
IC3,
Welcome to Beemaster.
This is definitely not robbing and does not look like swarming.
It does look like orientation. What time was it when you took this video? How long was it after you put the swarm in the box?
Jim Altmiller

ic3blue:
Hi BeeMaster

I have the swarm colony since 11/10/21 - I took the video in the arvo 14:00 EST 10/11/21

I also have some more questions to ask - I just went to the hive and check the box. In the brood box, I found: Honey, Pollens, Capped brood, open larvae, open hatched brood - I hardly see the queen.

Also, (on my untrained eyes), I found: 1x queen cup on the bottom of the frame and 1x queen cell with larvae in the cup, and only some drones combs.

For the BeeMasters out there, what?s that mean: is this trouble?

Thanks

Ben Framed:

--- Quote ---I found: 1x queen cup on the bottom of the frame and 1x queen cell with larvae in the cup, and only some drones combs.

what?s that mean: is this trouble?

--- End quote ---

ic3blue, with a queen cup at the bottom and larva inside there is definitely something going on. The question is what. Usually when the bees are in the process of going into swarm mode, in my experience, there will be more than one swarm cell at the the bottom of the frames with larva. Usually at least 4 and most times several more. I really don't know in this case of only one, unless you have caught them in the very beginning.

Is your queen marked? When you say I hardly see the queen, do you mean you did not see the queen at all? It is my experience that in the case of a hive leaning toward supersedure, replacing the present queen naturally,  and the queen is found, they will sometimes make the queen cells on the side of the comb.

Finding only one queen cup with larva stumps me...


 

The15thMember:
I agree with Ben Framed.  Only one active queen cells suggests a supersedure, the bees replacing their current queen without swarming.  A colony that you caught as a swarm is unlikely to swarm only a month after being hived.  If you are seeing drone brood, perhaps the queen is failing, and they are doing the right thing in replacing her.     

ic3blue:
Queen cup on the bottom is empty but 1x queen cell sort off the middle of frame have larvae in it. I did not destroy the cells just in case is important for the colony.

Normally I can see the queen but not today (queen not mark) and a lot of workers bees and hard for me to find the Royal highness.

Not much drones brood, I hope is just supersedure. When should I check the hive again - 7 days?

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