Beekeeping: Laying worker bee hive update - part 2

[@robertolmstead7685]

As suggested by SCHappyBees below, I agree. An alternate approach would have been to place an inner cover between the two chambers, conserving the bee heat and space of the colony below. Or simply removing the beeless top chamber to storage or to be placed above an inner cover of another stronger colony.

[@southcarolinahappybees3879]

Thank you for the update. Just my opinion, you don't have enough bees to add the deep hive, that will give the few bees you have in the bottom more work to clean the top and not be able to take care of the brood and queen and bugs

[@JeromeBeeFarm]

Sam Godwin thanks for watching and the comment. You may be correct. This hive had a new queen that had been laying a couple weeks. After this combine, they superceeded her setting them back more. The superceeded queen is doing fine now, but they did not build this hive up to fill the two deeps. I reduced it this week and feeding sugar syrup so they will survive winter. At least the laying workers were stopped.

[@OkieRob]

I've got one hive that still appears to be queenless and another i thought was. I put a queen in a push in cage but the bees chewed the wax and released her. I spotted another queen in there and tried to catch her. Don't know where she went and the other one i placed in there flew off, Lol They are still grumpy. I put a queen cell in the other hive but it was just started.

[@JeromeBeeFarm]

OkieRob bees, go figure. lol. The yellow on those beeweaver queens is wearing off. It took me three inspections to find one in one of my nucs. She's so tiny and so many bees. Not laying either. I'm wondering if she's not mated, or if I accidentally brought the tiny unmated queen in from the split and they kicked out the beeweaver queen. I don't remember her being THAT small. Other 3 queens yellow is wearing off, so I'm not sure what is happening. I have 4 cells in a split that I could grab one in case she doesn't start laying, but they will be open in 2-3 days. I finally have nectar coming in. That's a good thing. I doubt I get any spring honey.