Connie, my part Russian hive, has been fading for about a month. I decided last week to re-queen her.
The symptoms are that she has no activity at the front of the hive. There were 2 or 3 bees hanging out, but no foraging. This is a sign that the hive is in trouble. I thought she had suddenly died, but when I opened here up, there were lots of bees, just hanging out, and there was lots of honey in the main hive. I took the supers off because they were empty. Clearly, Connie had not been foraging when the other hives are packing away honey.
Last night I drove down to Summit NJ where a beekeeper named Ivan has a lots of bees and always has a few queens. I got a very lively and fat queen from him. There was a language issue, so I guess I got an Italian queen. He said had Carnies and I asked for one, but this looks more like an Italian than a Carnie. I will know when the new bees come out in three weeks.
I put the cage in the hive last night and when I came home from work tonight, it looked like they were not treating her aggressively. I released her and she ran right into the hive. It was very cool to watch. She acted like she wanted to get down to business.
Even beforeI released her, the hive was showing much more activity. Suddenly there are dozens of bees running off and returning with pollen. I think she was accepted and is now dominating the hive. It looks like a different hive.
I will know for sure 18-22 days from now when the new brood emerges. I should see new bees, somewhat smaller than the older bees, flying around the entrance.
It is only a month and a half before the first frost. I am hoping for a long warm autumn so that Connie can build up some population. Connie can lay thousands of eggs a day, and from the looks of this queen, she might just do that. She already has a good stash of honey in the hive boxes. With a little luck, Connie will come out next Spring healthy and happy.
