Hi Kerry, Could be that the queen didn't mate properly so has herself
become a drone layer. Usually if the workers are laying there will be
multiple eggs in cells and they're not usually right down at the bottom
but laid on the sides of the cells. Are you sure there are no eggs
visible at all?
Ann
On 28/06/2020 22:31, Kerry Dawson wrote:
Dear All,
Since swarming on 2 May and again on 8 May, I have been observing the bees in my tbh to see if all was progressing as it should. The remaining bees were still plentiful and purposeful, but it seemed strange that, after several weeks, they were not building new comb and numbers despite the good weather and foraging activity.
A couple of days ago I decided to do a full inspection. I found no eggs and no brood. The combs are full of nectar and there are capped drone cells, so I think workers are laying.
My question is what to do? Would introducing some eggs from another hive encourage them to make a new queen, or has too much time passed for this? Also, I can't easily transfer brood from my other hive, as it is not a tbh.
It is very sad to watch the colony decline. Any help and advice welcome.
Kerry
