I have a hive with 15-20 queen cells on frame fronts and 2-5 QCs on the bottom. This is puzzling me. The history is as follows.
05/05/21 - QCs present in colony ready to swarm so split hive leaving only one unsealed QC due to be sealed - frame position marked. Old queen, some brood frames, nurse bees and stores moved into a nuc. Gaps in donor hive replaced with foundation frames. Plenty of space and super space.
12/05/21 - The unsealed QC now sealed. Any new QCs destroyed.
26/05/21 - Just a brief check but confirmation that the Q had emerged as cell has opened.
10/06/21 - First observation of larvae and sealed brood. Great - queen has mated.
17/06/21 - NO eggs or larvae - only sealed brood. 15-20 sealed QCs on faces of brood frames and 2-5 sealed QCs on bottom of frames.
I've assumed they have or are about to swarm and have destroyed all QCs and left just one. Hope this has been the correct decision. But I have some questions.
1. Surely there hasn't been enough time for sealed QCs to have been produced. Or has there?
2. Have larvae been used instead of eggs which is quicker?
3. If they are preparing to swarm, why didn't they use eggs to produce Qs?
4. If they have produced these QCs to swarm, were the conditions still too congested even after I split the colony?
There doesn't seem to be a reduction in the bee population you might find after a swarm - though I am only in my second year so not exactly full of experience!
Please help - I"m mystified!!
05/05/21 - QCs present in colony ready to swarm so split hive leaving only one unsealed QC due to be sealed - frame position marked. Old queen, some brood frames, nurse bees and stores moved into a nuc. Gaps in donor hive replaced with foundation frames. Plenty of space and super space.
12/05/21 - The unsealed QC now sealed. Any new QCs destroyed.
26/05/21 - Just a brief check but confirmation that the Q had emerged as cell has opened.
10/06/21 - First observation of larvae and sealed brood. Great - queen has mated.
17/06/21 - NO eggs or larvae - only sealed brood. 15-20 sealed QCs on faces of brood frames and 2-5 sealed QCs on bottom of frames.
I've assumed they have or are about to swarm and have destroyed all QCs and left just one. Hope this has been the correct decision. But I have some questions.
1. Surely there hasn't been enough time for sealed QCs to have been produced. Or has there?
2. Have larvae been used instead of eggs which is quicker?
3. If they are preparing to swarm, why didn't they use eggs to produce Qs?
4. If they have produced these QCs to swarm, were the conditions still too congested even after I split the colony?
There doesn't seem to be a reduction in the bee population you might find after a swarm - though I am only in my second year so not exactly full of experience!
Please help - I"m mystified!!