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Author Topic: What to do?  (Read 1898 times)

Offline Nock

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What to do?
« on: September 12, 2020, 05:46:38 pm »
Going through a hive today and I found QCs. This is my second year and first time I have run into cells. This hive is a double deep 10 frame. I went through both boxes. I never saw the Queen. No eggs or young larvae. Only capped. And they have pretty much back filled everything. The cells appear to be emergency cells or supercedure cells. They are halfway up on comb. There are two cells down on the bottom of one frame that wasn?t drawed out all the way. 5 cells. I opened one of the small ones. Looks like I got two or three days before ready. I don?t think they are wanting to swarm. What are y?all thoughts?  Now what should I do?  It?s getting late in season. We still have drones. A lot capped in one of my other hives actually. If they are swarm cells I need to split I guess.  Now I do a small nuc that?s not doing so well. Could I introduce her to this hive? Should I put the cells in a mini as a back up?  Or just let things work out on there own. I could always combine the nuc Queen later if the queen fails to return on mating flight.

Offline iddee

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2020, 08:23:44 pm »
I would guess you don't have a queen. Allow them to be bees and take your wife out to dinner. Let the bees be for 3 weeks and then check for eggs. Report back then.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline Nock

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #2 on: September 12, 2020, 09:31:20 pm »
I believe that?s what I?m going to do. If she fails to come back I will combine the nuc.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2020, 09:49:07 pm »
I believe that?s what I?m going to do. If she fails to come back I will combine the nuc.

I believe I would do the same.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2020, 09:52:07 pm »
Whereabouts are you located Nock?  Do you have that kind of time?  3 to 4 weeks to get a laying queen and then another 3 weeks to start getting some new bees emerging.  That is 6 weeks or more time lapse to the start of a recovering population. Again, do you have that kind of bee-time left for your region? 
Personally at this time of the year, I would be crushing all cells etc right now, today. Put the nuc in with the nuc queen under a push-in cage with a bunch of her nuc bees for protection, and leave her under it for 3 days.  Then I would go take the wife for dinner and a movie and such with no lingering concerns about the bees.

When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2020, 09:52:27 pm »
I am curious, you mentioned capped brood and back filled comb. How many frames of capped brood do you have here? Are there alot of bees in this hive at the present time?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2020, 10:02:20 pm »
If workers and capped brood are plentiful you have other options also. You could order a mated queen, introduce her with a push in cage as another option. If so make double sure the queen you order is a guaranteed and mated queen. If that kind of guarantee exist. As HoneyPump says there is not a lot of time left.




                                                                                                                                                                                .
« Last Edit: September 12, 2020, 10:13:59 pm by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline cao

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #7 on: September 12, 2020, 10:16:14 pm »
TheHoneyPump
  According to Nock he said it looks like he has a few days till queens hatch.  If that is the case then he should have a laying queen in two weeks.  In Kentucky, he probably won't have a killing freeze until the end of October.   That would give the new Queen nearly a month to lay eggs for winter bees. 

I agree with iddee, leave them be for at least two weeks.

Offline Nock

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2020, 12:24:56 am »
Yeah like Cao said. We got at least a month. And usually it?s more like last week of October before killing frost. I?ve seen it not happen till first week of November. Hive is good far as numbers currently. With a couple frames worth of capped brood. I?m going to go back in tomorrow and crush one small cell. The others look a lot better. I didn?t today because it was first one I found and in the top box. Wasn?t sure how many I was going to find. Storm was rolling in so wanted to get through my other hives before rain.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2020, 12:33:31 am »
Yeah like Cao said. We got at least a month. And usually it?s more like last week of October before killing frost. I?ve seen it not happen till first week of November. Hive is good far as numbers currently. With a couple frames worth of capped brood. I?m going to go back in tomorrow and crush one small cell. The others look a lot better. I didn?t today because it was first one I found and in the top box. Wasn?t sure how many I was going to find. Storm was rolling in so wanted to get through my other hives before rain.

I am thinking you will be ok if she comes back mated. As your area and mine are not nearly as extreme as Mr HoneyPumps. I was watching Ian Steppler (Canada) in his jacket on a video a day or so ago and he mentioned he has already had a frost.
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Nock

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #10 on: September 13, 2020, 01:08:20 am »
Let?s say she doesn?t and I have to move queen from that nuc. Should I just do a newspaper combine or put her in a cage? I don?t have one of the push in style cages.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2020, 01:24:12 am »
Let?s say she doesn?t and I have to move queen from that nuc. Should I just do a newspaper combine or put her in a cage? I don?t have one of the push in style cages.

Personally, in that case I would follow Mr HoneyPumps instructions in reply 4.
Including; "Then I would go take the wife for dinner and a movie and such with no lingering concerns about the bees."  :grin:
« Last Edit: September 13, 2020, 07:06:37 am by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #12 on: September 13, 2020, 01:39:33 am »
I am thinking Richard Noel learned this from Michale Palmer.

https://youtu.be/U90UeMnKZSk
« Last Edit: September 13, 2020, 07:08:21 am by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Nock

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2020, 12:46:47 pm »
Easy enough.

Offline Ben Framed

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2020, 04:00:55 pm »
Nock let us know what you decide and how things work out. 
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Nock

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Re: What to do?
« Reply #15 on: September 30, 2020, 07:50:45 pm »

So I decided to roll the dice and see if I could get a Queen back mated. I destroyed two runty looking cells. Looks like I made right call. Got eggs and some young  larvae floating. I had a good feeling about it. I saw them bringing in pollen Sunday. And when I opened it up they were nice and quite.

 

anything