Frame Guide › Queen problems
Waiting on a Virgin Queen: what it looks like on the frame
This colony swarmed 16 days ago. No eggs, no larvae anywhere.
Queen cells along the bottom with clean round holes where queens chewed out, and the middle of the frame polished bright and empty. The bees are keeping the nest clean for a young queen who hasn't mated and started laying yet. Broodless after a swarm is normal — it takes a virgin two to three weeks after emerging to begin.
Wait another week or two, or add a test frame of eggs
Patience is the move. If you're unsure, give them one frame with eggs from another hive: if they build queen cells on it, they really are queenless; if they don't, a queen is in there. Dropping a mated queen in on top of a virgin usually gets one of them killed.
Easy to mistake for
- Laying WorkerA colony that's been loud and 'roary' for weeks. No calm hum.
- American Foulbrood Warning SignsSpotty brood, sunken greasy cappings with pinholes, and an odd smell.
Could you spot this with the lid off?
Read the Frame deals you 8 random frames. Say what you see, say what you'd do, and find out why. It's free and runs on your phone.
Drill queen problems → Mixed round (all 32 frames) →More queen problems
- Healthy Brood PatternJune · a strong colony, bees calm and covering the comb.
- Laying WorkerA colony that's been loud and 'roary' for weeks. No calm hum.
- Swarm CellsEarly May · booming population, bees boiling out the front.
- Supersedure CellsNothing dramatic. The pattern has just gotten patchy lately.
- Drone-Laying QueenQueen is present, but the brood looks bumpy and raised all over.
- Emergency Queen CellsYou rolled the queen ten days ago. This is the same colony now.
- Can't Find the QueenYou went through every frame twice and never saw the queen.
- New Queen Laying Double EggsThe queen you introduced started laying five days ago.
- Empty Queen CupsMid-April · the colony is building fast. Along the bottom bars you find these.
These frames are drawn to teach the pattern, and real frames vary. From The Alleman Apiary in Middletown, PA.