Hive appears to be without a queen–what should I do?
Question
Hi. I have a hive (nuc from GBA this spring) that appears to be queenless. There are lots of bees flying around, and they have some honey stores, but almost no brood at all, and what is there is very spotty. I didn't see any larvae at all. It was just me in suit and gloves so pictures were really hard to take. I tried to get one of a frame with only a few single cells of brood on it, but it didn't take. My neighbor thinks they might have swarmed yesterday, but she is prone to thinking any activity around the hive is the bees swarming. There are still quite a few undrawn or barely filled frames, so if they swarmed it wasn't from lack of room. There are a lot of them buzzing around the hive, but not very purposefully, which is another reason I think they are now leaderless.
I saw only one built out cell that might have been the start of a queen cup, but that was all. And, without any brood, I don't think they can raise a new queen.
I do have another hive that is doing well. I'm wondering if I should take a frame of brood with eggs and larvae and put it in my struggling hive so they might have a chance to raise a new queen. Or would it be better to try to buy a new queen for them. They are hard to find this time of year.
Any advice you might have would be much appreciated. I'm planning to come to the apiary meeting next Saturday. Does anyone in the club have queens for sale by chance?
Thanks for your time.
–Suzanne
Advice Request Name Amme Salomon Email amme@auroraexpressintermodal.com Follow Up Please contact me! Title Mite Control Question Hi Please let me know where I can obtain…
