[Bsweet]

Ok, got to thinking and that can be bad . So you catch a swarm , buy a nuc or a newbee reports this about a package.

Checked on the bees and all looked great two weeks ago (or even a month ago) with a very good brood pattern. But now the brood pattern is kinda spotty with empty cells shotguned throught out, almost 25% of the cells open, what should I do?
Normally we say the queen is failing and to replace her. But if the hive is not raising a replacement queen could it be that we have a queen/bees with a hygenic trait and they are just cleaning out larva with mites/shb or w. moth brood? So could we be jumping the gun and killing a good queen and her traits?
I guess I'm wondering if we are acting to fast. Jim

 

[riverrat]

has hot as it has been i would ride it out to see what happens. Do they have plenty of stores. at worst you can combine it with a stonger hive in winter and split back in the spring. If it turns out to be a ailing queen. but my guess its the heat

 

[Bsweet]

I don't have a problem just a what if situation. Jim

 

[tecumseh]

my best guess is the same as riverrat's. I am seeing a fairly loose pattern here also.

 

[barry42001]

with the main early and mid summer nectar flows shutting down and the fall nectar flows not in yet, a degree of brood reduction would be in order I would think anyway. With a now somewhat limited resources comming in, why maintain huge brood patterns, and deplete stored reserves that may or may not be replaced with fall flows.
Barry

 

[brooksbeefarm]

Barry,what are you talking about,didn't you know that scientist say that animals can't reason. :mrgreen: Jack

 

[tecumseh]

Jack you need to have a talk with my wife who 1) is very much a scientist and 2) is pretty well convince that not only do animals reason they reason at a quite high level.

 

[efmesch]

My experience is that after the full comb brood-laying of the spring, the pattern of laying becomes less organized in the summer. Maybe it's because as the cells are used, the bees don't prepare them for a new set of laying in the same orderly manner. Maybe if you would put a clean built comb in the middle of the brood area you'd find the queen to fill it up in an orderly way, as in the spring.