Paul Muller 0 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Just checked my hive after the winter. There were some pollen in the frames and frames with honey. One grame had larvae and drone cells. Does this mean that the swarm is preparing for the new season? Also I assume that there is a queen somewhere because I cannot seem to find her! can someone advise please? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tristan 4,273 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 need some more detail. how many frames of brood ? is this your first check of the hive this season ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GoED 310 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Paul we are just up the road at tanners point so our coastal conditions might be similar....we have drones in our hive and had a whole lot unhatched but capped appearing in the last 2 weeks on the edges of worker brood...so in our mild climate the queen laying drones now might be timely. It our first year here so I’m learning. Turned out it was my arrangement of the frames mixing 3/4 in with FD that had led to drones being laid, drones are appearing in other peoples hives too,.....anyway, I’m new to my hobby so I’m reading through all the forums one by one -as experienced beeks wisely advised me to. There’s real gems hidden everywhere and answers to questions about similar situations hidden in among all sorts of topics. If you feel like a great 2 day read, alongside the answers you receive here you might find that useful and reassuring too. Great to see you posting, it helps me if I can compare with my hive status with others nearby. Hope you find your Queen. What strain of bees do you have? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dennis Crowley 1,318 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 14 hours ago, Paul Muller said: Just checked my hive after the winter. There were some pollen in the frames and frames with honey. One grame had larvae and drone cells. Does this mean that the swarm is preparing for the new season? Also I assume that there is a queen somewhere because I cannot seem to find her! can someone advise please? Can you see any eggs? could be a drone layer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
john berry 5,410 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 I suggest you get a good book like practical beekeeping in New Zealand. Without more information than you have given on the state of the hive known can give you a good answer. I can say that you should have opened your hive at least one month ago and leaving things till this late in the spring is not conducive to hive survival. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefriendly 1,241 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 6 hours ago, GoED said: I’m reading through all the forums one by one -as experienced beeks wisely advised me to. There’s real gems hidden everywhere and answers to questions about similar situations hidden in among all sorts of topics. If you feel like a great 2 day read, alongside the answers you receive here you might find that useful and reassuring too. Great to see you posting, it helps me if I can compare with my hive status with others nearby. Hope you find your Queen. What strain of bees do you have? Beeking is a continuous learning curve.. Spring management, Varroa treatment, AFB checks I’ve found it useful if I type a phrase eg Swarm control into the search, then refine it to include both words. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CHCHPaul 452 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 On 29/09/2018 at 5:04 AM, Paul Muller said: Just checked my hive after the winter. There were some pollen in the frames and frames with honey. One grame had larvae and drone cells. Does this mean that the swarm is preparing for the new season? Also I assume that there is a queen somewhere because I cannot seem to find her! can someone advise please? Hi Paul, a bit more detail would be good. Perhaps you you should post this in the Beginners section. Or moderators shift it? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul Muller 0 Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 Hi beeks thanks for all the replies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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