No brood - no Queen.

[NKW]

I am new to beekeeping and would appreciate some advice please.

I have only had bees since July last year and I've just done a thorough check on my hive, following brief winter checks.

Whilst there seems to be plenty of bees (I think they are about 20% down in number) I found no brood or Drones.
I couldn't see the Queen, but then I never have found her. She came unmarked but I knew she was there as there was always plenty of brood and Drones, but not now.

I suspect the Queen has died and I'm wondering what's the best thing to do now. I have been trying to find out what course of action to take, but can't seem to find specifics in any of my literature.

I've tried to acquire a new Queen but looks like I would have to wait some weeks before one becomes available.

Any advice or pointer would be really appreciated.

[Silvbee]

Hi NKW,

Welcome to the forum and beekeeping. I don't know where you're based but if its Scotland I'd advise against going through your hives this early in the season, certainly lifting frames and looking for brood. Temperatures, particularly night time temperatures are still too low for inspections and bees waste energy warming the brood back up after an inspection at this time of year.

That being said the best way of finding out if all is OK is to watch the entrance. If bees are bringing in pollen then the queen is active and may just be a bit slow on the start up. If you are sure the queen is dead and the hive is hopelessly queenless then the only thing that can be done is to requeen. If there are good numbers of bees in the hive then they should be OK for a few weeks but the hive will start to lose bees quickly so try and source a 2019 queen ASAP.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

SB

[NKW]

Hi NKW,

Welcome to the forum and beekeeping. I don't know where you're based but if its Scotland I'd advise against going through your hives this early in the season, certainly lifting frames and looking for brood. Temperatures, particularly night time temperatures are still too low for inspections and bees waste energy warming the brood back up after an inspection at this time of year.

That being said the best way of finding out if all is OK is to watch the entrance. If bees are bringing in pollen then the queen is active and may just be a bit slow on the start up. If you are sure the queen is dead and the hive is hopelessly queenless then the only thing that can be done is to requeen. If there are good numbers of bees in the hive then they should be OK for a few weeks but the hive will start to lose bees quickly so try and source a 2019 queen ASAP.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

SB


Thank you Silvbee for replying to me so quickly.

Yes, I am based in Scotland, near Biggar. I did spend a little time watching the entrance, it was quite sunny and the bees were fairly active and I thought is was a good time to inspect the frames. I wasn't at it for too long, but I did notice some new pollen, so maybe the queen is ok.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the time being and wait a while longer.

Thanks again.

[Silvbee]

No problem. Completely natural when you first start keeping bees to want to get into the hive at the first opportunity, we've all done it.

Sounds like they'll probably be OK. Wait for another sunny, clam day and spend 10mins watching the entrance and you'll probably see the willow pollen come flooding in.

Best

SB

[Adam]

NKW, have you re-checked? Is the queen OK?