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Author Topic: Queenless or starved?  (Read 2940 times)

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Gypsi

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Queenless or starved?
« on: April 03, 2015, 08:03:48 pm »
Oh there are bees, and they are hotter than normal in my VSH hive.  On march 19 or a couple of days later I stole a frame of eggs from the top box, hope I didn't roll the queen.  At that point they still had sugar cake and i gave them a quart of 1:1.  Today, not an egg to be found, bottom box (full of stores when I flipped in late February) was just empty comb, top box was being filled with syrup or nectar. So I flipped them again.  No eggs one purple eye worker brood being capped no visible queen, a LOT of drones, and a lot of ticked off workers.  I picked up 3 stings thru suit, on a hive I could usually work suitless. 

I put stores on the bottom, empty bottom box with 9 frames of comb ( number 10 was messy foundationless so I pulled it) on top, gave them a quart of syrup. Rescued them from robbers (fighting on porch) and put their entrance reducer back in a few minutes ago, when I went out to feed today's swarm

NOT opening those Beeweavers at 6:30 pm, made sure they STILL have sugar cake, and closed the lid....

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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2015, 10:27:40 pm »
Give them a frame of eggs from the other hive and see if they make queens?   If you have drone cells already you should be OK to let them raise one.  Giving them eggs should calm them considerably..
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Offline Jen

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2015, 10:30:24 pm »
Hi Gypsi  :)  did you get to look at the frames to see if there were bee butts sticking out of the cells? that would be starvation, but I know you know that ~

But I'm thinking something is rotten in denmark with the queen at this point  :eusa_think:
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Gypsi

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #3 on: April 03, 2015, 10:44:19 pm »
no bee butts sticking out, they were all aimed at me, and a few got through too.  I will have to go through the other hive when I have a day off and it isn't raining.  Raining on Sunday, not sure if I am working Monday.  She was in there 3 weeks ago because I got eggs, and the  bees I gave the eggs to have hatched a queen and recently. She probably isn't mated yet.  I thought we had flow, with feeders hidden under medium boxes no clue without opening a lid. I switched this hive and the swarm to migratory lids with jars on top, the cutouts that hatched a queen are already on one of those.  Only beeweaver queen might have eggs for now. and they are hot, so not doing at sunset. Any day.
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Offline Jen

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #4 on: April 03, 2015, 11:05:10 pm »
I've got a hot hive too Gypsi. Been hot all spring. Can't go out in to any part of my backyard and they are in my face. Hubby and I, and our dog, and the neighbors dog, and my sweet elderly friend behind our house, have all been stung. I'm just about ready to do a sulfur sauna on them. 10 more days will tell ~
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2015, 12:50:38 am »
heheh  Sulfer Sauna.. havent herd that before...  Sounds a little less dramatic than Oxygen and Acetylene..    I dont like hot hives..   So losing old number 7 to moisture didnt bum me out at all... 
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Offline Jen

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #6 on: April 04, 2015, 01:00:52 am »
I don't like this at all either. Doing some homework on possibly splitting this hot hive into nucs. After 10 days when new queen is laying if things don't settle down... duh duh duh duuuuun  ;)
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Offline capt44

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2015, 10:53:03 am »
Quote from: Gypsi on April 03, 2015, 10:44:19 pm
no bee butts sticking out, they were all aimed at me, and a few got through too.  I will have to go through the other hive when I have a day off and it isn't raining.  Raining on Sunday, not sure if I am working Monday.  She was in there 3 weeks ago because I got eggs, and the  bees I gave the eggs to have hatched a queen and recently. She probably isn't mated yet.  I thought we had flow, with feeders hidden under medium boxes no clue without opening a lid. I switched this hive and the swarm to migratory lids with jars on top, the cutouts that hatched a queen are already on one of those.  Only beeweaver queen might have eggs for now. and they are hot, so not doing at sunset. Any day.
I had 2 bee weaver hives here in this beeyard in 2011.
They were meaner'n who thought it.
I re-queened them both and they finally settled down.
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Capt44

Gypsi

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Re: Queenless or starved?
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2015, 10:03:32 am »
Hoping my VSH queen is in there and just wasn't laying due to dearth.  They hadn't quite run out of food, hadn't kicked the drones out, but if I have a choice between letting the hive go or letting them make a beeweaver's queen option 3 is order a queen from somewhere else.

she could be in there, no queen cups, and the hive I gave eggs to did successfully hatch a queen according to frame evidence, she will be getting mated now.  she would be VSH and whoever she mates with. Tiny nuc, but if they have a queen and the big hive doesn't a merger might be arranged.

First year beeweavers is ok, marginally hot, but when they cross with local drones they get downright mean, although very tough and productive, so I don't want any queen daughters.

NO sulfur sauna here.
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