I thought that I may have waited too long to re-queen Connie. I am still concerned.
The life span of a bee is short. They live 28 to 35 days. Some may live a little longer. I think that the bees were already getting old in the hive that I re-queened. The new workers will not emerge for about 21 days from the time the queen lays them. There may be a few days where there are no bees taking care of the brood. If that happens the new brood die. I am hoping that there will be enough bees, along with the queen to care for the new brood and keep them warm and fed.
In the cool weather a bee can live a 5 months. Bees born in September and October are supposed to last the longest.
The hive acts like it is doing well. There are lots of bees by the entrance and the workers are bringing back pollen. This is sign that the hive is “queen-right”.
I released the queen on September 12th. If I see new bees on October 3rd then I know that Connie stands a chance over the winter. The new bees will be smaller and golden in color. The hive is now half Russian, but the new hive will probably be all Italian. The new bees might be part Carniolan. The place where I bought the queen had some Carniolan hives and the queen was naturally mated which means I don’t know who the fathers are.
The new bees are smaller than the old bees, so I will look for color and size on October 3. Keep your fingers crossed.
