Advice needed

[deemann1]

One of my hives got robbed out around a month ago and I lost my queen in the process.
The bees built QCs after ,so I checked last week and there was no new queen laying so I thought she failed or something went wrong..
So the new queen arrived in the post today and on I went to introduce her to her new home, but I found that in the hive there was a few not many drone cells maybe 10 or 12 ..I left the new queen there in her introducing cage she is between the frames ..
The bees looked nice and calm around her but now I'm afraid I done the wrong thing I'm paranoid that there is a drone laying queen in there too
Advice please
Sorry about the long spuel

 

[Erichalfbee]

You should always check that you don’t have a queen before introducing another.
You may well be in trouble.
Egg to drone is 24 days so if you have capped drones in there something is laying them since you lost your queen.
Take the introduction cage out, put it on the top bars and watch what the bees are doing.
If they are crowding the cage then back to my first sentence. They don’t want her so you will have to sort that hive out before she will be accepted.

 

[enrico]

I would set up a nuc with frames from the hive that you KNOW have no queen on.
E

 

[coffindodger]

You could have laying worker(s). If so, you can't introduce a new queen without removing them or they will kill her. There is a section in Beekeeping for Dummies which explains how to remove laying workers (basically dump all bees on ground away from hive; flyers return but layers cannot). I've never tried it.
I've been caught by laying workers. I misunderstood the situation and introduced a queen; poor lady. One observation fits with your description; unlike most Q- colonies, which become hostile, those colonies were remarkably calm.

 

[masterBK]

Laying workers can fly so they will return. Suggest you take as nucleus from your other colony and introduce her to that.

 

[enrico]

Just for the record I had two hives this year. One was a drone laying queen I found and killed and new queen accepted.
Second was laying workers in early stages. I got rid of drone brood frames and introduced the queen without shaking. The new queen started to lay and then disappeared, could have swarmed as there were a couple of charged queen cells not sealed. Or.....? She could have been killed. She remained with the hive for at least two weeks.
So my advice would be to be not to use frames from am laying workers hive! Make a nuc up from your strong hive. If you can't find a laying queen but are sure it is a drone queen then make a nuc up from that hive. Hope all that makes sense!
E

 

[Quis Custodiet]

Laying workers can fly so they will return. Suggest you take as nucleus from your other colony and introduce her to that.

Good advice, hopefully the o.p. will recognise it as such.

 

[Angularity]

Laying workers can fly so they will return. Suggest you take as nucleus from your other colony and introduce her to that.

That's also my experience of a laying worker. I did the shaking them onto the grass business. Within an hour they were all back home, and the patch of grass was completely bee-free. A week later she was laying again.

 

[deemann1]

Hi all thanks for replying
I have gone back to the hive and I checked it for a queen there is no sign of one ..
I put the new queen on top of brood frames and the bees didn't bother her , just the odd bee walking over having a look no sign of aggression towards her in the cage ...
The bees are very aggressive to me though

 

[badger65]

The position of ths eggs in the cells should give an indicator of wether the queen laid it or not. In the middle at the bottom is usually the queen. Although be careful as a virgin queens pattern can be a little similar to a laying worker until she gets into her stride.