Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ocba - Re: [ocba] Queen released by mistake

ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Lewis Cauble <lewis AT hivebody.com>
  • To: Orange Beekeepers <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Queen released by mistake
  • Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 10:49:38 -0400 (EDT)

Jim,
I believe the chances that the queen that flew returning to the newly
installed
colony is very slim, but anything is possible. Check the queenless hive on
Saturday and look for signs of a queen. If you do not see eggs I would
newspaper combine the queenless hive on either of the remaining colonies. You
can split them back out later when a new queen is available or when you have
enough brood to spare for a split that would make its own queen.

Lewis

> On March 29, 2015 at 6:05 PM Jim Evans <jevans20 AT gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> I'm beginning my second year. One of two hives survived the winter.
> Today, I installed two packages - using drawn comb from the hive that did
> not survive the winter. (I put those frames in the freezer during the
> winter to kill off pests.)
>
> One package install went as planned. When installing one of the packages, I
> mistakenly removed the cork on the wrong end of the queen cage and released
> the queen about 20 feet from the hive. I never saw her. I put the bees in
> the box and set up the feeder. What are the chances that the queen will
> find her way to the correct hive? (There are now three separate hives.)
> Or, am I adding the purchase of a queen to my "to do" list this week?
>
> I considered taking a few frames of brood from the established hive so the
> bees could make a queen, however, that queen has started slowly. There are
> eggs, larvae, and capped brood but not prolific and find no drone cells.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Jim Evans
> jevans20 AT gmail.com
> 919-949-7362
> _________________________________________
> ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
> Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page