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Tremyfro

Tremyfro

Queen Bee
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
2,434
Reaction score
0
Location
Vale of Glamorgan
Hive Type
Beehaus
Number of Hives
Possibly...5 and a bit...depends on the bees.
Stood watching one of my nucs today...I have been waiting for a new queen to get mated and start laying.
The weather of course has been awful...my constant lament.
Seeing the girls bringing lots of pollen....every second and third bee had pollen. Now I have read that some people say this is a sign of a queen laying and others pooh pooh the idea.
Since I can't go in to investigate the situation...what are the forum opinions....I'm going slowly mad waiting to find out what s going on.
Storch isn't helping either!
 
A good sign in my experience (other opinions are available)
 
beg to differ - shook out one hopelessly Q- nuc last weekend - some frames stuffed with pollen, have another hive awaiting queen mating thus no sign of brood or eggs the same if pollen is available they'll bring it in. stores is stores
 
Couple of my hives, both of which have superseded more than once, only showing minimal capped brood and no eggs or larvae at all. There has got to be queens somewhere but am prepared to wait, albeit after adding a frame or two of BIAS to both by way of insurance. Patience .................................. Otherwise not the best of seasons so far, largely due to the poor weather of course.
 
So it's....😁 or 😟 or 😕...depending on how you read the situation....ah...I will just have to be patient. This nuc was made when a colony made queen cells after I introduced a new queen. That queen is laying really well...so I don't know why they made queen cells....other than it was around a hole in the comb. So ended up with an extra nuc.
It would be lovely if I ended up with a spare viable nuc. A little insurance for the coming winter.
 
Hi Tremyfro,
Get some good news from me then. Pollen collection is in response to a need for protein e.g. brood rearing or protein top up for foragers from nurse bees whilst nectar gathering is in response to a flow. So in my book a large amount of pollen coming in should mean she is laying. Good luck.
 
beeno said:
brood rearing or protein top up for foragers
Click to expand...
could be both or either you've just ''proven in that statement that they will gather pollen if there is no brood - if they need it for foragers protein (as well as their carbs) they will gather when there is no brood - tghey will keep on foraging regardless.
As in nectar gathering which is in response to availability of nectar, so is pollen gathering a response to availability of pollen not in response to a need - they will gather it in readiness for a need which is a different matter altogether. To suggest otherwise is misleading the beginner when there is no need.
 
As the days go by...it gets nearer to the time when I can take a look. I will be checking my hive records and will look forward to it. I have to say that they seem well.....settled.
On the up side all my nucs, except this extra one, are hived and doing well. Despite the abismal weather.
Today was glorious in comparison...but still very windy and cool.
 
jenkinsbrynmair said:
could be both or either you've just ''proven in that statement that they will gather pollen if there is no brood - if they need it for foragers protein (as well as their carbs) they will gather when there is no brood - tghey will keep on foraging regardless.
As in nectar gathering which is in response to availability of nectar, so is pollen gathering a response to availability of pollen not in response to a need - they will gather it in readiness for a need which is a different matter altogether. To suggest otherwise is misleading the beginner when there is no need.
Click to expand...

I thought you would be there with your 'logic'. Quantity is the give away, which you learn to differentiate if you have your colonies under close observation. We all know that brood rearing is the main use of pollen and that colonies can go all winter without pollen.
 
I have to agree with JBM
I have had a queen-less colony stuff a whole brood box with pollen
There is no other way than to look when it is timely.
 
beeno said:
I thought you would be there with your 'logic'. Quantity is the give away, which you learn to differentiate if you have your colonies under close observation. We all know that brood rearing is the main use of pollen and that colonies can go all winter without pollen.
Click to expand...

Not logic just common sense and knowing how the bees work - stop misleading beginners by talking tripe
 
or you could be really patient like me - i put a freebie virgin in a nuc and just left her to get on with it. didnt peek even once. of course i had totally forgotten there had been a laying queen in there that i removed 2 days prior..... and they raised qc and now the freebie virgin killed the qc virgin:hairpull:
sods law the qc was a carni virgin that i would have preferred to the mongrel virgin.
 
Obee1 said:
or you could be really patient like me - i put a freebie virgin in a nuc and just left her to get on with it. didnt peek even once. of course i had totally forgotten there had been a laying queen in there that i removed 2 days prior..... and they raised qc and now the freebie virgin killed the qc virgin:hairpull:
sods law the qc was a carni virgin that i would have preferred to the mongrel virgin.
Click to expand...

Oh Obee1.... What a bummer!
What a summer you have had.....still the honey you harvested will make it worthwhile.
Having lost one tiny nuc to the wasps....I am now neurotic about this one!
Good news today...caught 3 wasps in my traps.....hopefully no messages were taken home to their nests yesterday. I have seen 2 flying about this morning.
I have checked my records and it should be OK to take a look to see if there is brood in the nuc. So I am going to do that today....yay!
 
Obee1 said:
sods law the qc was a carni virgin that i would have preferred to the mongrel virgin.
Click to expand...

A pure Carnica * Carnica would give you a pure Carnica queen and workers but, unless you can control the breeding, her daughters will be 50% Carniolan.
An Open mated Carnica would give you a pure drones but 50% workers and daughter queens.
 
jenkinsbrynmair said:
beg to differ - shook out one hopelessly Q- nuc last weekend - some frames stuffed with pollen, have another hive awaiting queen mating thus no sign of brood or eggs the same if pollen is available they'll bring it in. stores is stores
Click to expand...


agree, i had a failed AS that went Drone laying worker after six weeks, they had seven 14x12 frames of pollen
 
B+. said:
A pure Carnica * Carnica would give you a pure Carnica queen and workers but, unless you can control the breeding, her daughters will be 50% Carniolan.
An Open mated Carnica would give you a pure drones but 50% workers and daughter queens.
Click to expand...

Yes sorry sloppy language. Did realise she would be a half caste - is that PC these days - but I lost one draft of that post when my battery died so the version you read is somewhat rushed as got fed up with it!
Either way I don't have that queen whatever her name - unless the cell got torn during fisticuffs but she still polished the welsh queen off. .... It could happen, couldn't it?
 
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