Guilfordbeekeepers.org

I didn't see this one arrive around 4:00pm today, but I noticed about 50-60 dead bees in front om my 2 hives in nucs. I walked behind them and saw a cluster of bees on the side and under the inner cover of one of them. I got another nuc box and a couple of frames. The hives were too close to use a scooper, so I used a queen clip to gather clumps and dump them on the front of the new nuc. I put a couple of drops of lemongrass oil on the landing board and used a bee brush to move the cluster toward the nuc. I got most in and anchored them with a pint of honey water in a jar feeder over the inner cover. I did not see the kind of fanning that makes me confident that they have a queen. I'm going to move them after dark and take a look inside tomorrow. If nothing else, it was something to play with and pass time late this afternoon.

There is an unmarked queen and she has laid some eggs. My queens at the house are marked except for one that I have confirmed is still in it's nuc, so my best guess is that these bees did not come out of one of my home hives. I am feeding them honey water, but I am reluctant to take brood frames from another hive to boost this one. Once I see the laying pattern and confirm that this queen is producing worker brood, I may change my mind.

She still has 42 days or more to run 2 brood cycles, if she has bees to cover and bee bread to feed them. I think I would move a strong hive and put her in it's place, thus giving her their foragers. May or may not work, but would be a good experiment.

For now, I'm going to do a wait and see. I did not see a queen when I checked this swarm yesterday. I did see two queen cells with royal jelly and larvae in the early stages of construction. I would try boosting a working queen, but I am reluctant to put good foragers into a potentially queenless situation.