# tips for finding the queen?



## knuckledragger (Jun 6, 2007)

Anyone got any tips for finding the queen? I just got two nucs and my queens aren't marked. Also, my hives don't have queen excluders. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

At this time of year with so many bees in the hive you are wasteing your time for the most part looking for the queen.
Instead look for eggs laid in a good patteren as well as open and caped brood.
If you *JUST*have to find the queen for some reason take a emtpy hive body to the bee yard. Remove the outer cover, then the intercover which should go inside the top cover. Remove one frame at a time even the honey filled frames. Look them over from top to bottom even the end bars and the bottom of the bottom bar. Watch for that shiny head on the queen. If you don't see her that way do the drill all over again as you placethe frames back in the orginal hive one frame at a time. It should take you close to two hours to go thru a double deep brood area if you are doing it right. 
The queen does not like smoke and will drop down many times to the frames cloest to the entrance and clean air, one reason we don't smoke in 99% of our inspections. She also doesn't like sun light so many times will quickly move to the oppsite side of a frame in full sun light.
















































 Al


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

As Al said, don't make finding the queen your main objective. Look for evidence that she's there and laying. If you see eggs - she's been laying within the last 3 days. If you see open brood, she's been laying within the last week. Look for eggs/brood in all stages, in a nice solid, pattern.

Al has some good suggestions for looking for the queen. I'll add a few more...
Most often you'll find the queen on one of the frames that's most heavily covered with bees, but keep in mind she can be anywhere.. on the lid, in a honey super, down at the entrance. As Al said, she tends to run from the light, so when you pull a frame, glance at the edges first because she may be running to the other side.

When you look at a frame, don't focus so much on individual bees, try to look at the whole - often you can spot the queen by seeing that there's an area on the frame where the bees are moving a bit differently than everywhere else - sort of a "group" movement rather than bees moving individually.

I rarely saw the queen my first few years as a beekeeper. Ironically, I began to see her more often once I stopped looking for her specifically.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

yeah. glance for the pattern of bees not so much for the queen herself. and as others have said a "flighty" queen will sometime run for the bottom frame edge openings and corners......

and as others have said,,,,if you are just looking for evidance of a good queen, just look for egg pattern and stages of quantity egg development...i learned to leave the old girl alone when you can...


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

great pics Al--now i know for sure i havent seen her but i know what she looks like so maybe i can get a glimpse of her sometime. i know she is there and doing good but it would be nice to see her. and thanks to Al, Indy and Ace i know where to look first.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

The more you pull frames the bigger chance you have of looseing the queen. Causeing damage to her body or even out right killing her even though not on purpose.
The biggest chance of that happening is when the frames are full and lots bees to get rolled while pulling frames.
As I said you do not have to see the queen just the signs of eggs on a frame in a good patteren. 

Best time to see the queen is in the very early spring when there are lots of empty frames in the hive with fewer bees.

 Al


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## Cascade Failure (Jan 30, 2007)

Al is right. 

I quit looking for the queen. Now I look for eggs, larva and activity/conditions at the entrance.

I will dig further if I suspect a problem but for the most part I try to leave them alone.


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## Speckledpup (Dec 3, 2004)

First year beek here. 
I'v been doing as everyone adviced and looking at my larva, and capped brood patterns. Couldn't see eggs for the life of me and now at certain times of the day there they are. Everything says have the sun over your shoulder, I can only see them if the sun is in front of me. Yeah I'm backwards. LOL

Installed 2 packages on 5-13. Got both packages from the same place.

Hive 1 is doing great, been working on the second brood box for 2 weeks now. Taking over a gallon of 1:1 a week. Signs of queen but haven't seen her in a month. Might get to add a super tomorrow. If this one produces lots of honey next year defiantly want her genetics in my bee yard.

Hive 2 hasn't filled out 5 frames yet. Queen is laying and pushing them to draw out comb but the package workers seem to be lazy. Had 1:1 on since day one and they take maybe a 1 to 1.5 quarts a week. Hive 2 also was a smaller bee, thought I was imaging things but you could see the difference in the size between the 2 packages once installed. This queen is a wait and see I need to see how her workers do, before final judgement.

Waiting on word of when to pick up my Sunkist Nuc. 

I'm like a kid in a candy store. LOL

When I inspect tomorrow if hive 1 is still doing great, the plan it to pull a frame of brood and put in hive 2. Maybe I can strengthen hive 2.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I would pull two frames from # 1 for # 2. Get a frame of fully or nearly fully capped and a frame of nearly all open brood so they hatch out at different times. In anpother month if Hive # 2 isn't drawing out better I would find the queen and pronounce her as dead . After the death wait a day and install a new queen.

Lots of queen breeders out there, Hardman has good queens and the price isn't as steep as many other places. 

 Al


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## Speckledpup (Dec 3, 2004)

Al
Thunderstorm here this AM so going to wait till late this afternoon or tomorrow to inspect. 

Will take the advice of 2 frames of different stages of brood. 

If I have to requeen finding the queen isn't an issue, I see her every inspection. Have a guy in our club that is raising queens, so if I need one it isn't a problem. He has already said that if it was an emergency situation and he didn't have any ready that he would pull me a queen from one of his hives.

Now if I needed to requeen the other hive I'd bee in trouble, I've seen her once that was in May

I just keep hoping that this hive will improve. Seems anything that could go wrong has with this hive.


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