We still have potential cold days ahead of us in this new month of February, so I’m not in full bee removal mode yet. But when I get calls like this about a hive in a dangerous situation during a structure demolition, I hustle right to the scene.
These bees were a very quick and easy capture, and although I didn’t spot the queen anywhere along the way, I got a large bunch of bees and will know very soon if they’re queen-right or queen-less.
If I’m not seeing eggs and new larva in the hive in four or five days, that means they are without a queen and likely are unable to produce a new queen this time of year. Bees need fresh, fertilized (female) eggs or young larva which they feed royal jelly to create a new queen. They also need a robust population of drones so a new queen can mate, which we don’t see this time of year (hives only make drones in times of abundance, like spring and summer).
If I don’t see a queen or eggs and larva in a few days I’ll combine these bees with a queen-right colony that needs a boost in numbers.
If you need help with bees, click here to give a shout!