>Blair Reischer  [log in to unmask] wrote
>
>Today, I checked the hive and found:
>
>No brood.  There was lots all spring until mid May.
>No bees in the super.
>Two brood boxes heavy with honey
>More drones than I had seen previously
>A still strong population
>No queen cells
>
>My conclusion is that I have lost my queen.  This is a weak hive.  If I had
>several other hives, I would combine this one with another.  I had been
>planning on starting one or two more hives this year, but didn't get around
>to it.
>
>Is it too late to requeen?  Where can I get a new queen on short notice?
 
I would advise that you remove the queen excluder and leave it out until the
bees have had a chance to draw out and place honey into the super.  It
appears that they have used the brood chamber for honey stores and for
evaporation of nectar.  You can speed up the process by placing two frames
of honey from the brood chamber into the super.  Replace these with new
frames and foundation.  These new frames will soon be drawn out.  The queen
is probably still there and will begin to lay as soon as there is space for
her to lay in.
 
If you jump the gun and requeen now you may waste a good queen.
 Carl Mueller     Email: [log in to unmask]
 West Palm Beach, Florida USA