In a message dated 4/13/99 3:11:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:

> Today when I opened the hive I went through both boxes and couldn't find any
>  brood.  Lots of bees, honey, pollen, nectar, but no brood, and the bees
were
>  still very aggressive.  Should I order a new queen ASAP?  Should I wait a
>  week or so and check again to see if a new queen has started laying?
>
>  I am assuming that a swarm departed without my knowledge, does this seem
> right?
>  Why would a perfectly nice colony get so irritable over the winter?

    If the hive was very populous, as you say, in early March, you probably
did lose a swarm, or two, or three.....    After casting swarms, the hive has
to get the virgin queen mated and laying. If weather was bad, she may not
have gotten mated.

    This points out the advantage of having two hives. (I always advise new
beekeepers to start with two.)

    We try our best to avoid swarming, but when it happens, and we find one
that has cast a swarm, we routinely give them a frame or two of brood. Then,
if the virgin does not get mated, the hive has a second opportunity to raise
a queen, from the eggs we give them. If they start making queen cells
immediately, you know that they failed. You can also give them a queen cell.

   The reason they are irritable is because they have no young bees emerging.
Most of the population is aging, and old bees are always nastier. If they
truly are queenless, they will continue to get worse behaved.

    It is NOT a good idea to give them a queen at this point. If they have a
queen just getting started, you have wasted your money. If they have been
queenless for awhile, they do not have the needed young bees to accept a
queen. The only reliable way to install a queen would be to give them a small
nuc -- a queen already laying and accepted by a couple frames of bees.

    Best bet now, is to try and find a willing beekeeper to get a frame or
two of brood. You may even be able to add one from a swarmy hive that already
has cells. Gently handle the frame and adhering bees - don't even tip it
upside down as you may damage the developing queen's wings.  If it is just
brood, make sure you have eggs, and be sure you don't take your friend's
queen. If it has swarm cells, you needn't bother to find the queen, his hive
is about to get re-queened anyway.             ;o)

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com

Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm