# Queenless hive and other help needed!!!



## Ltl Ole Me (Jun 10, 2005)

I bought two hives (already set up, just take them home and find a good place for them) from our local farm store and received our bees about 3 weeks ago. When I brought them home one of my hives did not have a queen. Called the farm store and they said they had one that was an escapee. When I got there they said they weren't sure but pretty sure there was a queen in a cluster of bees. I took the cluster home and used sugar, water and vanilla mixture to introduce her. Checked a couple of days later, no queen. Don't know if I didn't get one in the cluster or if they killed her. Supplier sent me another queen and I installed her the way I was supposed to and checked on her 3 days later and they had released her but I couldn't find her. Called the farm store they reassured me that she was probably in there I just hadn't seen her. I didn't know how long it took the eggs to change into larva so waited about 10 days. Went out this morning and no larva, no capped brood. Don't know what I am doing wrong but I figure I need to get a queen in quick. 

I have the other hive and it is doing great ready to put second box on but that leads me to another question. But first, should I put a frame from the first hive into my second queenless hive and if so, which frame do I take? Will they raise another queen for themselves or does this just boost my population until I get a queen they like?

Ok second or third or what ever I am up to now.... I have the first brood box ready for a second do I put another brood box on top or do I put a med. super for them to start putting honey into. I have talked to a couple of people in my area and I have heard both ways. One guy I talked to said that on a new hive he never puts 2 brood boxes on, he does one brood box and then leaves the first med super for them the first year. Then the second year he does the 2 brood boxes. Others say they put on two brood boxes. I didn't know if this answer depended on what time of the year you got started or what would help me determine. I live in southern Missouri.

Now when do I need to put on my queen excluder? I am assuming you would put in on between your brood box and any supers weather the super is for the bees or yourself? Any help is so greatly appreciated!!!

Little Ole Me, needing LOTS of help!


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

If you take a frame for them to make a Queen be sure its has young larva in it they will make up several Queen cells and you should get a new Queen that way.


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## Orville (Jan 25, 2005)

You are correct in stating you need a queen asap. If you end up with a laying worker, evidenced by eggs on the sidewalls of cells and layed kittywampus all over, it will then be very difficult to introduce a queen. I'm an amateur beekeeper, so I don't spend a lot of time looking for the new queen after introduction (young queens are harder to find than mature ones), I look closely for eggs. Are the workers bringing in pollen? If not, it can indicate a lack of brood. If you use a frame with eggs from the other hive, the eggs must be no older than two days. Also, if you happen to take the queen with the frame, you will have another queenless colony. When the bees make a new queen, it will be about 30 days before she is mated and laying eggs. This is quite a setback in brood production. Did you put the bees in foundation or in drawn comb? Feed 1:1 sugar water until they have the foundation drawn out. If I remember right, it takes 8 lbs of honey for a bee to make 1 lb of wax.


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