Bad day beekeeping...but things are turning around! (Update post #12)

[journey11]

Well, I still have bees...for now at least. But I don't seem to have a queen anymore! I did a very thorough inspection yesterday and can't find ANY eggs, brood or queen (she wasn't marked, or maybe she's superceded since I did find a couple empty supercedure cells). There wasn't any capped brood, so she's been absent for awhile. That was the first chance I got to check on them, where babysitting and good weather serendipitously aligned. We've had constant rain and storms for 2 months or so. Last inspection was 6 weeks ago. Far too long to leave them to their own devices...

I'm going to check them over again Tuesday and if I still don't see any eggs, then I have a lady I know who might be able to sell me a queen, or maybe one of my beek association friends will have pity on me and let me have a frame of brood.

I am so bummed out. With the bad weather and now this -- no honey for me this year.

 

[digitS']

I'm sorry you are having problems with your bees, Journey.

Forgive me, I know nothing about this subject . . .

Can you introduce a new queen to a hive of worker bees and have her stay around?

Steve

 

[vfem]

I am so sorry to hear this. I wish I knew more to be of more help. But you have been wonderful to me as we've prepared for bees. Sadly, no bees for us. Everything fell through and we never heard back.

So I will sit here and be disappointed with you.

Maybe after all this though, things will work out! :bee

 

[Collector]

Sorry tohear of your bee troubles, That sucks. Hope you can requeen and keep them from scattering to the four corners.

ETA I was stung 3 times yesterday By a slow moving yellowjacket that I rested my arm on.

 

[Southern Gardener]

So sorry to hear that journey.

 

[hoodat]

Hope you find a queen. Nothing sadder than an abandoned hive.

 

[journey11]

Thanks guys. I'm hoping that there might have been eggs in there and maybe I'm just to inexperienced to spot them! I got some advice from over on Beesource.com forums. Odds are good I'll have to buy a queen. I'm trying to get ahold of the pres. of my association. He sells queens too. This was bad timing with Memorial Day and everybody going out of town. :/

Steve, it's just amazing how complicated their social structure is. It is the pheromones of the queen that keep the other bees together in the hive. Wherever she goes, they go. Odds are good that they did try to raise a replacement queen and perhaps with this bad weather we've had, she went out to mate and just didn't make it back or was prevented from going out. If there is no queen in the hive, the worker bees quickly know it and their first reaction is to try to raise a new one from recently laid eggs (they just feed a couple of them extra royal jelly--that's what makes the queen--she has gotten more of the good stuff that makes her bigger and stronger and reproductively complete). If she's gone and they can't raise a queen for some reason, a few of the workers will start laying, but since they aren't fertilized, all of their offspring will be drones. Drones are lazy and pretty much useless. All the workers eventually die off, then the drones die off, and that's it...a deadout hive.

If I can get a new queen in there pronto, she will have to stay confined in a queen cage (little mesh box) that is shut up with a mini-marshmallow. The amount of time it takes them to eat the marshmallow and free her, by then they are used to her unique pheromones and they'll usually accept her as their own. She'll take off laying and we're back in business again! Another option is to take a brood frame with eggs under 3 days old out of another hive and put it into the queenless hive. They'll also raise their own queen off of that, but it takes longer. 16 days for her to hatch out, then fly out to mate, come back and start laying eggs.

They are such complex and fascinating little creatures. I can't get over how complex their doings are! Hopefully it's not been too long and I can get them "jump started".
:bee

 

[thistlebloom]

Here's hoping with you!

 

[lesa]

Yes, fingers crossed that you will get a new queen in time! The eggs are awfully small, and difficult to spot, so maybe...
I was so happy our bees survived the winter- now I am busy hoping they survive the spring! 112 inches of rain this month!!
Good luck!

 

[Reinbeau]

A trick to spot eggs is to hold the frame so the sun is over your shoulder, and hold it at an angle so you illuminate the bottom of the cells better. Those little es are tough to see!

We still have no packages yet, they've been delayed now until next weekend. I'll believe it when I see it...