Patching in cells with eggs - how do I do it?

[Bridget]

I've got another disappearing queen and no eggs and want to put in a frame of eggs to check whether it is queen less. I have a small nuc with a laying queen but I can't afford to take out a whole frame. Can anyone tell me how to patch in some eggs. Ive heard about it but no instructions and had a look on youtube but can't find anything. I need to do it today as weather good and need a quick result before going on hols next week. If there is no queen I can then combine the nuc with that hive.
Thanks
Bridget

[Mellifera Crofter]

I don't know about patching eggs, Bridget, but I don't think it matters greatly if you do give the possible queenless colony a frame of eggs from the nuc. After a few days you'll have the result and can then either return the frame or unite the colonies. Or - if there is still a frame with capped brood in the possible queenless colony, then you can perhaps exchange the two frames between the colonies.
Kitta

[Bridget]

Thats an idea Kitta - I'm off to give that a try. Thanks.

[prakel]

Not sure if this will help you, taken from CC Miller's 40 Years With Bees it's actually a description of how they repaired damaged comb but would work equally well for your purpose.


In handling the combs, if any are found with drone-comb or with holes in them, and if we are not too crowded for time, the defects are remedied. Very likely I may turn over these combs to my assistant, who mends them before they are returned to the hive. The usual plan is to mend them in this way:

She takes a common tea-knife with a thin, narrow, sharp blade, cuts out the piece of drone-comb if the hole is not already made, lays the frame over a piece of worker-comb, (this piece of worker-comb may be the part or whole of some old or objectionable comb), with the point of the knife marks out the exact size and shape of the hole, removes the frame, cuts out the piece and crowds it into the hole.

[fatshark]

Probably too late for this ... I've also grafted larvae into these:
2130
and stuck a few into the centre of the colony. If there's a queen present they'll ignore them. If not ... voila!
Not my idea, I got it from the BKF I think.

[Bridget]

Thanks all - in the end it wasn't needed as the queen had started laying again but at least I was prepared. Maybe all that bad weather put her off. They have also taken all the honey from the supers and put it in the brood box so not much left for us:mad:

[Black Comb]

To'patch eggs I just cut a 3" square out of one of the frames in the problem colony and cut out similar square from Q+ colony (with eggs in the cells) and insert it in the gap.
Then put the removed patch into gap in Q+ colony.

Works for me.