queen · intermediate
When Things Go Wrong with the Queen
How to tell when your colony is queenless and what to do.
Queenlessness signals
The quickest test: are there eggs? If yes, you had a laying queen in the last 3 days. If no eggs and no young larvae, you may be queenless.
Confirm before you act
- Check 2-3 frames of comb in the brood nest
- Look for queen cells (emergency cells, supersedure cells, swarm cells)
- Listen — queenless colonies often roar with a higher pitch
- Defensiveness can be a sign
What to do
- Order a mated queen from a reputable breeder
- Combine with a queenright colony if the population is too low to support a new queen
- Do not delay — a colony without a laying queen is on a 30-day clock