Dead Queen

[Les]

 I took a stroll out to the hives this morning to see if the warmer weather was encouraging more activity.  Bees still coming in with pollen and then I glanced down at a dead bee and saw yellow.   For a second I thought, darn poor bee didn't even make it back into the hive with her pollen (I have said before my eyes are getting bad).  On second glance that yellow I saw was the mark I had placed on my QUEEN  !  Needless to say, panic set in.....it's too late in the season!  Contacted a couple of my mentors (thanks Robo and Lindsay) and after receiving their input decided to go into the hive to see if I could find a new queen or maybe eggs.  Nada, zip even using a magnifying glass!  There was a supercedure cell but it was completely dry inside.  Some spotty older brood, some in the process of hatching out and some larvae that had the caps removed (they have been dumping the larvae).  So it was decision time for this newbie.  I did not want to wait two weeks and see what would happen for fear that we would get into another cold snap, then I would be tearing apart all their propolis.  So we went for the newspaper combine.  Took the frames from the queenless hive that were loaded with capped honey and pollen, combined them into one deep box and added it to the top of the queen right hive that already had two full deeps.  I wasn't happy with the queen's laying pattern anyway, I probably would have replaced her in the Spring.  What's done is done and I hope that I made the right decision!  Ken is my savior, there was no way I was going to lift those boxes....he even had a tough time with them.

[riverbee]

"What's done is done and I hope that I made the right decision! "


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ya did great les!

[Jen]

Hi Les, my condolences    I would have done what you did. 

[LazyBkpr]

   Way too often, the decision is made with the knowledge we have, or can scrounge out of others when it comes to bees. We do the best we can with that knowledge.
   Thankfully, even if what we did is wrong, the bees will usually fix it, and we end up looking pretty smart!
  This time of year you have to do what you have to do. I'd have done the same if I didnt see any open queen cells and no eggs.  I think you did good too!

[Les]

   Way too often, the decision is made with the knowledge we have, or can scrounge out of others when it comes to bees. We do the best we can with that knowledge.
   

I have learned that making choices/decisions is the most difficult part of beekeeping.  The physicality of it is tough too but I feel like I am entrusted with these little creatures care and don't want to blow it.
   

[riverbee]

scott nailed it! and it's very true les, and yes, sometimes the choices or decisions can be challenging. every choice/decision adds to our learning and education in bees. as you advance you will become more comfortable and more confident. you made a comment about that queen, that you weren't happy with her laying pattern.  so next time you see a failing queen, you will know she needs to go.  that is one thing we all need to be diligent about above all, is to see that the queen is laying well, especially for those of us in colder climates, and start evaluating this as early as july, otherwise hives will fail in fall/or never make it to spring. 
with that said, we all 'fail' les, irregardless of what we did or didn't do, and many times doing the 'right thing'. we just take that into the learning curve for the next time around.

you really did great!

[Jen]

So True! I have learned how resilient bees are no matter how bad we mess up their little world up.

Also Les, you said that the dead queen you found had been marked with a yellow spot. My missing queen had been marked with a blue spot. It is said that sometimes the bees may concider that a defect and may send her down river. I think that may have been my queens case, because she was doing fine before I marked her