# I'm afraid I killed the queen bee



## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

I decided to start bee keeping, so I went to two all day classes, read three books, and ordered and put together two hives. Yesterday, i set everything up but when I was putting the bees in the new hives, I dropped one queen and I'm afraid I killed her. All I can do is hope she survived. I'm going to check the hives on Weds. I pray she made it. The apiary had her marked with a red dot so she should be easy to spot. If I can't find her, I'll have to try and introduce a new queen. It won't be the end of the world but it will set the hive back and cost another $120. Actually handling the hive frames was a lot harder than the videos made me think it would be but then I was nervous. I think having a continuous source of honey and bees wax would be a great addition to our sustainability.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

What exactly do you mean by "dropped" her? While she was still in the queen cage from the supplier? Dropped on the grass or on cement...? More details please.


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## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

I wasn't expecting her to be in a cage. I thought she would be among the brood. When I saw the queen cage I picked it up and it fell apart and she fell between the frames. Her wings are clipped and she is marked. I'm hoping she had been there long enough that her pheromones had told the brood she was their queen, so they didn't kill her. I'll check on Wednesday. If I can't find her I'll call the bee breeder but I really feel this was my fault. No where in the companies literature did they say the queen would be in a cage. I thought I was buying her and her established brood.


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## Well_Driller (Jun 3, 2012)

Anytime you order packaged bees the queen always comes in a little cage. When bee packages are made they may actually be made up of bees from several hives. If she went in between the frames i'll bet she's in there. Most likely will be fine. You'll just have to see if you can find her. I'd give them a couple days or so before you get back in there but with no combs they can be more difficult to find. Here where i'm at we have to feed new starts this time of year to stimulate them to build the combs and so they have food, otherwise they will not make it.


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## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

Each hive has a side bar feeder with one gallon of syrup in it. What I purchased was a Nuke containing four frames of brood and a queen. I just thought that the frames of brood would be her brood. The instructions for installing the Nuke said to find her on the brood not in a queen cage. That was why I was baffled when I saw the queen cage.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

I got my nuc from a guy in my bee club, so the queen was mixed in with the brood in the frames. I always assumed if they were _shipped_, the queen would come in a cage.

I agree with Well_driller, wait a few days & look for her. Should be easy if she's marked.


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## GroovyMike (Feb 25, 2010)

If there are larva in the "brood" you have no worries. Even if the queen dies, the workers can raise another queen.


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## Merlin (Dec 25, 2008)

Before I can say much I would like more info What 3 books did you read?? if people have the same book they can refer you to where to look in them.. Also did you buy a nuc or package ??? bees in a cage or frames with comb on them?? and was the queen shipped with and how?? no Matter what do not get into a un-established hive very much especially with a new queen they may ball her and kill her .. I am sure a lot of people could give you a lot of good help if they had better info I have been a beekeeper a long while and would hate to lead you astray


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## thenance007 (Oct 8, 2012)

I'm totally confused. Queen cages don't just "fall apart". Did you pull the screen off of it? If you picked up a "real" nuc, the queen should be loose in the nuc, with her own brood, or if they put her in a cage just for safekeeping while you took her home, she is their queen and dropping her in with them won't hurt a thing. If she was in a cage, it is possible that it wasn't a "real" nuc, just some frames of brood and an unrelated queen. By definition, the brood are supposed to be the offspring of the queen--it is a miniature, functioning hive with a laying queen, that is why you pay a premium price vs. a package. 

Why would it cost you $120 to replace her? Queens sell for around $25--you should be able to add her to the nuc you have. If indeed the queen was in a cage, the cage fell apart, and the bees balled and killed her, you need to go back to whomever you got them from and complain--because what you got was inferior and they should at least give you a new queen. I don't think any reputable beekeepers will ship a nuc because there is no way to ship it without damage. 

I hope I don't sound angry with you, but I have some very serious doubts about any beekeeper or company who would sell you the nuc you described. Or maybe I am just confused about whether you got a nuc or a package? Did you get it from a company or a local beekeeper?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I think the chances are pretty good that all is well inside the hive. I would give them a chance, dropping a queen inside of the hive should not harm her and even if she was a new queen we have had good luck with quick introductions, not perfect but good.
I agree with the other comments, a caged queen in a nuk is not normal imo. In a package she will always be in a cage in my experience, of course a package has no brood, just bees. Also the cages are usually TOUGH to open.


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## Well_Driller (Jun 3, 2012)

Sounds like it was a packaged nuc. That's where they pull brood and bees from a hive, or sometimes more than one and put the nuc together then add the queen. They can be made available much earlier in spring doing them that way but they aren't exactly an established hive. I know here if you want an established nuc and verified laying queen they aren't available this early.


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## GroovyMike (Feb 25, 2010)

Please let us know how you made out - once you know.


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## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

Well I checked both hives today. I found the queen alive in the hive I was worried about but did not find one in the other hive. I also didn't see any eggs or larvae in it. I emailed the apiary and asked what they wanted me to do. Both hives are drawing comb and storing pollen and nectar. I seem to be snake bit with keeping the smoker going but the bees are really gentle and easy to work with. No stings yet!


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

Lucky you! I got stung once today - durn thing crawled up my pants leg. Yow! 

Did you see any cells that looked like they might be brooding a queen? Or was there no larva at all on any of the frames...?


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

If they're making honey and storing pollen, there is a queen there somewhere.a queen less hive generally goes elsewhere within 72 hours.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

I agree with Magus, also if you have two hives the noise should be noticeably different from a queennless hive. 
If the queen was caged then I would expect a period without larvae. Eggs can be difficult to spot, sorry if this sounds bad I just don't know how much experience you have. Did you see eggs in other hive? Probably will be fine if left to their own devices however it is good to check sometimes, as a last resort you could merge the hives and have a much bigger work force.
Most of the time with bees I find the trick is just to let them bee. There are times though when a bit of due diligence can save you a headache.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

cowboyhermit said:


> I agree with Magus, also if you have two hives the noise should be noticeably different from a queennless hive.
> If the queen was caged then I would expect a period without larvae. Eggs can be difficult to spot, sorry if this sounds bad I just don't know how much experience you have. Did you see eggs in other hive? Probably will be fine if left to their own devices however it is good to check sometimes, as a last resort you could merge the hives and have a much bigger work force.
> Most of the time with bees I find the trick is just to let them bee. There are times though when a bit of due diligence can save you a headache.


And there you have it ... I agree with Magus and cowboyhermit!

Best of luck and keep us updated!


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## Well_Driller (Jun 3, 2012)

You generally don't have to smoke them up too much, I usually just give the hive a puff of smoke in the entrance and up top when I open them up and that's it. If you're gentle with them they will pretty much go about their business and ignore you, but I always keep it nearby in case. Don't stand blocking their entrance when you're in the hive as that will upset them, and they will let you know if you have the hive opened up for too long, they start making a lot of noise.


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## RUN1251 (Mar 15, 2012)

I am completely new to bee keeping. I've read a bunch and attended two one day seminars. I thought this was one thing definitely worth doing when attempting to be self sufficient. You can't beat free honey and bees wax. So far, I've found it to be very interesting.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Well then if you are new I would have to say it is not always that easy to spot the eggs, especially if there aren't that many.
I agree, bees are a great resource, most of our honey goes to making mead btw, and from that we make vinegar as well, a couple more things you can get from the bees. There is also pollen, if you want to go through the trouble it is very nutritious, and propolis has many uses as well.


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