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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: MarilynMark Clark <wazazi.wa.binti AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: Orange County Bees <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Reading my hive (part 2), weak hive
  • Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 12:59:31 -0400

Mark,

If you introduce a new queen without first removing the old one, you will have spent $25 for nothing. The bees will not accept a foreign queen, no matter how good she is, while the old one is still there.

Randall

On 8/16/2013 11:18 AM, MarilynMark Clark wrote:
CAMaQ7+Cau0zt4DaZACvztdJrsqWFyurNubqJF6L_V84+H34M6g AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">

The saga continues ...

On July 30 I moved two frames of mature brood from my strong hive to the problem hive (described previously below).  As a result the exterior behavior had not changed.  What bothers me the most is that they simply will not take sugar water whereas the strong hive has been taking a gallon a day so I assume there is not a great nectarflow out there.  I was considering washing my hands and getting one of Bailey's hygienic queens, so I went into the hive this morning.  It consists of a lower large brood box under an upper Illinois box.  In the upper there were a fair amount of bees and six frames with saucer-size capped brood which were a little spotty, but enough to make me think re-queening was a little premature.  But, in the lower hive body there was very little brood (or stores for that matter) and lots of bees but the majority of which were drones.  I have had laying workers before, but this does not look like it, in fact I saw very few drone cells at all (unless drone brood can have a flat cap like a worker cell).  My guess is I have a queen with very little sperm and for some reason the few workers left are not trying to raise a new queen.  So, I am going to pick up my queen today.  I guess I am asking not whether my reading of the hive is right or wrong, but is it out in left field, and how important is it that I find the old queen and commit regicide. 

Thanks,

Mark

"I don't mind people thinking I am stupid, I just don't want to give them any evidence it is true."  --(Maybe Yogi Berra?)


On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 10:58 AM, MarilynMark Clark <wazazi.wa.binti AT gmail.com> wrote:
In mid June I had an inactive hive which was started from a package in mid May and seemed strong at first.  But by mid June I was afraid it had gone queenless since I could only find capped brood; so, as suggested by Randall Austin, I added some egg-laden frames from my other hive just as insurance.  Checking it again the middle of this month I saw all stages of brood which makes me think that the queen was there all along, but had taken a hiatus for some reason.  But, the hive is still very weak: they take very little sugar water and let the pollen patties I gave them dry up.  I checked them again when I did my sugar shake test yesterday (second time for me, I hated missing the workshop).  No mites, but poor brood patterns, too many drone cells for my taste, and less activity at the entrance, and few bees for two hive bodies (full and Illinois 10 frame) in the middle of the summer.  I saw no queen cells.




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