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BUCKS COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

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Queenless Hive

  • October 19, 2023 1:32 PM
    Quote
    Message # 13269387
    Michael

    I have a few questions I hope the group can help me with.  Background:

    First year beekeeper.  Two hives.

    • 9/12 Tested for mites (Sugar roll) found 7 in hive1 and 8 in hive2
    • 9/14 Treated both hives with Formic Pro
    • 10/1 Tested for mites (Sugar Roll) found 2 in hive1 and 2 in hive2
    • 10/1 Inspected hives could not find Queen or eggs in hive1
    • 10/18 Tested hive1 for mites (Alcohol Wash) found 7
    • 10/18 Confirmed there is no Queen. 

    My questions:

    • Is it too late in the year to introduce a new Queen?
    • Should I just let that hive die off and put in a new package in the spring?
    • As the Formic Pro did not seem to work, should I treat with ApiGuard this time? 
    • If I do introduce a new Queen, should I do the mite treatment first?  (That one seems obvious, but I thought I'd ask anyway.)

    Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

    Mike

    Note:  The hive with no Queen seemed to have way more Drones than it should (about 30-35% I would guess)  There were no eggs at all so I don’t think the workers were laying.  Just seemed odd.  


    Last modified: October 19, 2023 1:43 PM | Michael
  • December 30, 2023 7:02 AM
    Quote
    Reply # 13295323 on 13269387
    Dan

    Hey there, I know this probably won’t help since your post is two months old (sorry) but I have a few questions before I answer. Was the sept sugar rolls the first time checking for mites? I’m not a fan of sugar rolls, I always use alcohol, more accurate and while you kill a few bees it’s better then killing the whole colony. As for no queen, how many frames of bees were there? Not seeing eggs/larva/capped brood is normal getting into October, so don’t use that as a 100% like you would on say May. My cell is 267-566-4491 if it would be easier to talk in person. 
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