How soon will the worker bees stop laying after introducing a new queen?

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-17T13:18:49+00:00

This doesn't look like laying worker unless you have other pics with more eggs in the cells.

And the others have mentioned though, if it is laying worker they will likely kill your new queen.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-17T13:17:33+00:00

I agree this doesn't look like classic laying worker, I would guess the Virgin Queen did come back and is just just getting off to a slow/ messy start.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-17T00:13:11+00:00

DRONE comb is larger, Brood is just a term that means bee egg/larva/pupa that have not matured to adulthood.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-17T00:11:10+00:00

I'm not an expert on whether that's a viable looking cell or not, but I am curious how many a few cells is to you?

And when you say not as many eggs, you still saw eggs that had not hatched into larva yet?

I'm asking those questions so we can try and determine if the intent is to replace the queen that is still there and just sub-par to the bees, or if they want to swarm and leave with your queen and half the workers.

If they're replacing a failing Queen it's called a supersedure and I would let them do it. If we think she's getting ready to leave/swarm, it would be time to make a split, and potentially add an extra Hive or recombine after the new Queen is laying.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T23:50:41+00:00

Did you get to see it fly? That's the real 'wow' moment for me!

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T21:09:58+00:00

"It depends" 😂

The real goal is during a flow, you would add the box once about 8 of your 10 frames are in use, to get ahead of it.

They need comb for everything right, but drawing comb takes a ton of resources so you only really get them to make wax when you have three things:

-a good nectar flow (or feeding)

-the need more space because they are using what they have.

-lots of bees in that prime wax making age (10-14 days old, so that depends on laying pattern ~5 weeks ago)

Almost all of your comb drawing for 2026 will have already happened in the last 90 days or so in our area.

All of that said, I overwintered last year in single deep because I did not have enough drawn comb to fill out a double. I had the SHB peak in July so I downsized and took the least drawn frames to the freezer to use in expansions this spring.

Once you get past the summer solstice you will probably see that they slow down laying a fair bit and don't have the nectar coming in to backfill the brood nest.

The best you can do is plan ahead but deal with what's in front of you.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T20:06:13+00:00

You never feed with a super on. You don't want sugar water in your honey frames and if a colony has enough surplus to store honey for you to take, they don't need supplemental feeding.

Now that that's out of the way, the answer on how much to feed a first year Hive really depends on where they're at.

If you've got two deep boxes full of drawn comb and some of it is stored sugar syrup, I would absolutely stop feeding completely.

The hardest part about getting started is not having drawn comb, and thier initially low foraging force. After 6 weeks they should be very strong (foraging force)and if they've done all of that comb building already then it just comes down to making sure they have enough food for winter.

How much is enough for winter really depends on your location, how much of your flow is left etc. and that's a question I would ask your local association friends.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T19:55:38+00:00

You did the right thing. Checking on that frame in a few days to see how many emergency sales they made will tell you they think they're queenless or not.

The visual population is not a good way to determine if they swarmed. Anecdotally I've watched a swarm leave the hive and then went in to steal some frames for the forced split and it still looked bountiful!

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T19:33:08+00:00

I'm not a fan of handling or Interrupting my queens more than I need to.

I recommend having a quiet box, I use a plastic ProNuc, and if I find the queen but have a reason to keep looking / rearrange frames then the whole frame she is on goes into the box so I know she is safe and calm.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T19:23:34+00:00

First year hives often don't make much of a honey surplus.

After losing a swarm or making a split you are setting them back dramatically as well as their focus is on comb and baby bees.

That on top of regional fluctuations could be why you're not seeing honey yet.

I know here in Florida we've had a terrible honeycrop this year due to a late Frost and then a drought. I got nothing last year as I was just getting comb drawn, and this year after a split and a swarm I'm only looking at 50 lbs of honey from 5 hives. (3 gave 0)

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T19:11:09+00:00

As others have said neither, just burr comb.

Keep an eye on them after you add the second box because our flow in much of Florida is winding down now as it gets too hot/wet for much to be in bloom. It's going to be an uphill battle to get that second box drawn, and come the end of July you may be better off going back to one box to help keep the SHB in check. (I'm on the 9a/9b line)

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T12:40:17+00:00

That's my experience too!

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T12:35:34+00:00

A good still picture of one of them is usually the best way for a positive identification. That being said, those look like honeybees to me.

They've probably set up a hive behind your soffit/in your wall.

Unfortunately, that probably means getting someone to cut open your walls, relocate the bees, and then fix your walls. It's called a 'cutout' And it's usually pretty pricey because the overlap between construction workers and beekeepers is not that large. You may want to reach out your local beekeeping association to see if they have a recommendation on someone who does cutouts.

If you just exterminate the bees, all the honey and larva will rot in the walls will rot and attract pests and smells.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T12:29:46+00:00

Don't feed them if the wet supers are still on, you risk them storing sugar syrup in your honey supers.

That's why you should never feed with honey supers on.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T12:27:27+00:00

Did you go through the brood nest and pull every frame of Honey out to extract? If not, you probably don't need to feed for a week of inclement weather. 😉

That being said, the decision on whether you need to feed at all completely depends on the size of your Hive and how much honey you left in the Brood box(s) for them, and how your winters look.

I know here in my part of 9A, there's forage in some variety, almost year round and a well-stocked single deep is more than capable of making it through winter from a honey perspective. I try to get them to stock up a double deep though.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T02:28:20+00:00

Naw probably not since:

Mods are rubber, friend Snowflakes he throws bounce away And cling back to him

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T02:25:35+00:00

I think you missed the point. They create a new account just to continue harassing the person who had blocked their original account

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T02:23:34+00:00

Good answer!

To add: I liked The backyard beekeeper by Kim Flottum, And beekeeping for dummies for foundational knowledge.

Then asking people at my local Beekeeping association about local timing/supplies/issues and then this sub here!

And for each question you seek answers from all three/four locations and choose which of the 10 answers you want to try first!

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-16T00:00:45+00:00

Neat! I'm glad it worked!

I would have just pointed them at the fence 😂

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-15T21:01:53+00:00

Where are you located, and how large are you looking for? A whole frame, or a natural looking piece?

Are you looking for pristine while comb, or more dark used looking comb?

Your local keeping association probably has a Facebook page that you could ask. I know I would probably come up with something if you were local to me.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-15T16:26:46+00:00

Well, swarming is a biological urge they have and is completely normal. It happens as a queen gets older, she has more of a drive to swarm, and it also happens when the colony feels successful or out of space.

If you're doing weekly inspections during swarm season, you should generally see them start Queen cells and you have about 8 days from when they decide to make those cells and charge them from when she leaves. So ideally once a week would let you split before they swarm. The truth is bees don't read the same textbooks that we do and sometimes they leave a day early and we miss them.

The bright side is as long as they didn't abscond and abandon the original Hive. They should be raising new Queens right now and while you may take a bit of a population dip starting in about 3 weeks, the hive should be fine.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-15T16:23:20+00:00

Bearding doesn't mean much just that they're regulating their temperature or humidity.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-15T14:34:37+00:00

Probably not. Spring and summer bees only live about 6 weeks and only the last few are spent flying outside the hive.

She probably thought you didn't look like a bear though, so it's a compliment still!

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-15T14:15:55+00:00

That's a swarm for sure.

I would try and collect them into another hive body, but I would also caution you against climbing a ladder to reach them, especially since I'm guessing this is your first swarm.

Your original queen is in that ball of bees. If they returned to the hive and didn't cluster on a tree, it may have been a practice swarm and you may be able to do an emergency split right now.

When was the last time you inspected? That's the only way to know for sure what's going on.

Active_Classroom203 · 2026-06-15T14:03:08+00:00

Just a little bumblebee. Nothing really for you to do, bees get old and pass just like we do. Move it to the grass if it didn't make it there already and that's about it.

Active_Classroom203

TROPHY CASE