WHEN THE QUEEN DIES IN YOUR PACKAGE OF BEES

Posted May 3, 2020
by Hilary

A dead queen in your brand-new package of bees is never a welcome sight. It can be especially distressing to new beekeepers. Yet, it is not an uncommon problem. Read on to find out about common scenarios that could result in the death of your queen bee and what to do about it.

Why Did My Queen Die?

The arrival of new bee packages is a highly anticipated springtime event. For many beekeepers these will be their first colonies, for others they are a means of replacing winter loses or simply new additions to a growing apiary. It’s no wonder then, that a package with a dead queen would be the cause of distress. Aside from the obvious disappointment, it can also be perplexing. Why would a healthy, new queen die so quickly? And what should you do now that she has? As with all things in beekeeping, there is more than one answer to these questions.

Transit Issues

As with all things in beekeeping, there is more than one answer to this question. One possible explanation as to why your queen died is that your package was not properly handled while in transit. When this is the case, your queen and her attendants are often dead in their cage. You will also see a large number of dead worker bees in your package. Also, the bees that are alive may be lethargic.

Solution

If the bees arrive in this condition, take photos and contact your supplier right away to let them know. A reputable beekeeper should replace your package and/or queen. Install the living bees in your hive as planned and be sure to feed them sugar water. Later, you can combine these bees with the replacement package or simply add a new queen to them when she arrives.

 

Two Queens

Another common reason for a dead package queen is that your package has two queens. Sometimes when a beekeeper is making a package, they accidentally shake a queen in with the workers. Then, when the caged queen is added, the worker bees reject her because they already have a queen. The workers may kill the caged queen while in transit and you will find her dead in her cage upon arrival or they may kill her several days after you install your package. Typically, in this scenario, you will find that your queen is dead, but that the rest of the package is healthy.

Solution

If this sound like your situation, it’s still a good idea to contact your supplier to let them know what’s going on. They will likely offer to send you a new queen, however, you should hold off on installing one. If your colony already has a queen, any new queen you try to introduce is doomed to die.

At this point, you might be wondering how you can know for sure whether your package is queenless or whether there is a shook queen in there. Unfortunately, the answer is that you cannot know yet and will have to wait at least one week to find out. A word of caution, you should resist the temptation to search the cluster for a queen when they are first installed.  A shook queen is not always marked and you are unlikely to spot her. Any effort to do so may only stress your bees out and could prompt your new bees to abandon the hive.

I recommend you install your bees as planned and wait one week after installation before inspecting them. This advice applies even if your queen was alive upon arrival, but discovered dead in front of the hive a few days later. After a week, your bees should have built some comb and if there is a queen you will be able to spot her more easily on the comb. Comb also allows you to look for eggs which is evidence that you have a queen, even if you are not able to find one. (Remember, if your queenspotting skills are not developed, I wrote a whole book on the subject that is sure to help you improve!)

If after a week, you are still unable to find a queen and there are no eggs, ask your supplier to send you a replacement queen. However, be sure to double check for eggs in the comb when she arrives and before you install her. Some shook queens take a little longer to start laying.

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My name is Hilary Kearney. I’m the author of the book, “Queenspotting” and founder of the urban beekeeping business Girl Next Door Honey in San Diego, California. I’m an artist turned beekeeper on a mission to help new beekeepers succeed and educate the public about the magic of bees!

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