I think my flow hive is queens less

Beekeeping - Basics
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hi all who can help me
my flow hive I think is queen less it has been 8 weeks now and there is no babys and still only 3 of eight have been done but just pollion I got the flow hive in October this year can I put nuc of frames with the queen in to mine
please let me know I am in austraila wa perth in the hills

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After eight weeks without brood I think you can be certain there is no queen. I’m surprised you don’t have laying workers( have a good look for cells with lots of eggs in each cell)
You can put your nuc with laying queen into your flow hive brood box but do a proper unite. Don’t just put the frames in or the bees will fight, a lot will be killed and your queen will doubtless be among the casualties. Another option might be to get a new queen but the bees may be too old to accept her so I’d go with the unite. At least you have young bees there

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there are spotted cells here and there but I am surprised they didn’t make a new queen

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http://apivoxrecorder.weebly.com/

This link is to a website, the developer, has taken a lot of documentation of bee sounds, and can give you a good idea of what the bees are thinking or trying to do.

You can download this free app make a recording and send it to him and he can tell you if your hive is queenless or not

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What do you mean spotted cells…what’s in them?
They could have made a queen…she might not have made it back home after mating. It happens

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If there are still lots of bees, give them a frame of eggs/very young larvae from the nuc. Check back in a few days to see if they started queen cells. If yes, leave them alone for a couple of weeks.

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I add my flow supper two weeks now and the red gums are just flowering now how long will it take for them to fill the supper they are just starting to look at it now
cheers mike

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“How long will it take for them to fill the super?” That’s a good question & a question that I often get asked.

You need to make sure that everything in the brood is right first. Then you need to wait for the colony to build up in numbers sufficiently so that the colony can store excess honey for you. Just hope that the red gums are still in flower by the time the population is strong enough for the bees to take advantage of it.

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HI Jeff thanks for getting back to me they are on the last frame in the brood box

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Well done Mike, that’s good news. You must have a decent colony up & running now.

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yes now I do I had lost five weeks to queenles hive then having wax moth as well but all strong now have I new queen and she is great layer I checked last sunday and had layered out 3 frames I have a total of 5 brood fully cap so his hope now for some honey I am in Australia perth hills

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Me too Mike, where are you at?

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In greenmount skeggley

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This is related and I was just thinking. When is the brood right? Mike_Chef is in the same place I think I am. I have just cut out a new hive to replace my first hive which left and was full of insect. I have one empty frame which they have now started to build comb in. It is a deep box. I see larva and believe I have the Queen. Not positive because I have not seen her. But how long does it take for a healthy hive to build say 7 frames med box? Is that a question that could be answered? Because I would like to have the deep and medium before I put the super on. My husband asked me "so when will we have honey, honey " Ha I have no clue. I think next year summer. I see flow hive folks with honey so quickly. I feel like it is forever :slight_smile: .

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I think the brood is “right” when the colony has a good young queen laying fertile eggs in nice straight worker combs. You would like to be seeing healthy brood in all stages.

A healthy hive with a good population can fill 7 medium frames inside a month, given the right conditions. It all depends on the size of the colony coupled with how much forage is available to it.

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I know the feeling. We’re into our second season here and haven’t had a drop of honey yet the Ff’s have been packed full of bees for months! 30 minutes away down in suburbia they are harvesting monthly…
I found the bees here build slowly, even stall, for what seemed like forever then suddenly, as a homey flow started they exploded and took me by surprise.

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Just to put some perspective in here. We have had a Flow super for over one year. We decided to try it on a new colony, just like new beekeepers would. We haven’t used it yet. As a balance, I have to say in Southern California, we have had a long term (7years+) drought, with a significant nectar dearth, even in seasons which should have a nectar flow.

Traditional beekeepers in our region have been saying that it has been hard to store enough honey to overwinter colonies without feeding, and many are unable to harvest in the first or even second years. We haven’t had a harvest from our Flow or traditional hives in the last year. We hope to harvest this year, but our focus remains on the well-being of the bees. We will only harvest when they have enough. If they survive another winter, I am happy - that is true success. :wink:

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