have hive that has queen laying but the ladies r not producing honey.
i havre bee feeding to keep alive but wondering why a hive would not product honey for the winter??? the other hives have produced lot’s honey.
Hi Cottles, if you have other hives producing honey, you should be able to figure out why this hive isn’t producing honey. My first guess would be lacking in field bees. My second guess would be that the scouts haven’t located the nectar source yet.
Bee hives are a secret society, all the waggle dances are performed inside the hives. That way bees from different colonies don’t get to know the good spots, unless they find them themselves.
Another possibility would be a poor performing queen, which will lead to poor looking brood, resulting in less workers.
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thanks jeff…i am assuming the problem is a poor performing queen who has not been able to muster the troops to work. she is laying altho not a lot. she is new queen [from kangaroo island] that i replaced end nov21, it took her about 4 weeks to start laying.
BIG question is… will she learn, will she improve or have i managed to purchase a lemon and need replace her??? could i help the situation by putting frame of capped brood into the hive to help support??
Hi Dennis, not knowing where Cottles Bridge is, it’s hard to say… I see it’s in Victoria.
Seeing as winter is upon us, don’t look for any performance right now, however she should have proved herself by now.
If you think the stronger colony can do without a frame of capped brood, I would definitely swap one over on a warm day.
Don’t look for honey production during winter. Focus more on the colonies surviving winter. Don’t even focus on honey production during spring. That’s when you focus more on swarm prevention & the honey production will follow after that.
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Hi , I’m Elisa actually living in Nassau but probably will be in Koh Samui or Phuket at end of the year!
I’m a professional beekeeper from Switzerland with Swiss beekeeper master ( 120 hives)and will be interested meeting people who like bees, and I would be happy to help them with.
I will see to create an beekeeper association, and why not à school. We’ll see in the future.
If you had questions with your bees, you can contact me :James.Elisa.Klein@gmail.com
4 weeks to start laying eggs is absolutely normal for a young queen!
Never go to disturb a hive before a month when you just introduced a new queen!
If she still not good laying eggs, kill her , wait a week and kill all other queen cells. After a week, take a frame without bees from the strong hive ( with eggs under 3 days)
Or if your colony is really not strong: take a frame with fresh eggs and the young bees, and water them with a spray ( in that water bottle to spray just add 1-2 drops of eucalyptus oil , for a litre not more) so the pheromones from the fresh introduced bees will not give and agressive réaction)
Best regards
James.elisa.klein@gmail.com