What happens when the Queen bee is removed?

[john9159]

One of the tenants at our allotments has gone AWOL but before doing so he took away the Queen bee so I'd like to know what effect this has on the colony.
There are two hives which are currently becoming overgrown with weeds so what will become of them I would like to know.

[bearded bloke]

It’s every beekeeper’s nightmare: The queen is dead, or gone, or lost. Whatever the reason, if the colony doesn’t have a queen, it’s doomed. That’s why you must confirm that the queen is alive and well at every inspection. If you come to the dismal conclusion that your colony is queenless, you can do two things: Let the colony raise its own queen or introduce a new queen into the colony.

Extracted from Beekeeping for Dummies. Read about the two options mentioned here ......... What to Do If You Lose Your Hive’s Queen Bee - For Dummies

[seasprout]

With no Queen Laying eggs, the colony will slowly die out.

[john9159]

Allowing the tenant to keep bees was more of an experimental exercise as none of our committee knew what was involved, me included.
There are nowhere near the number of bees which used to swarm when the hives were maintained (several thousand then but only a few hundred now) so am I to assume there is no queen?
I did not intend to re-introduce a queen into the colony or to allow any more bee keeping as it has not been a success for the allotments society in that the tenant collected a lot of honey, sold it off-site at a market and gave none of the proceeds to the society.
Thanks for your advice.

[mothhawk]

Did the tenant have an agreement to give you some of the proceeds of his honey sales? Do tenants have to give you a tithe of their veg?

[veggiechicken]

Good question, Mothhawk.
Expecting payment, over and above the plot rental, seems a bit draconian.

[bearded bloke]

so am I to assume there is no queen?

Assume what you like, but as we all know assumption is as the (Merrycans say) the mother of all muck-ups.

I fail to understand why you would want the hives to die, surely it is beneficial to everybody on the allotment site to have active bees pollinating their crops ?

[veggiechicken]

What I fail to understand is why a beekeeper would leave behind his hives and colonies?
Was he "encouraged" to leave?

[bearded bloke]

I your first post you make the statement ..........

One of the tenants at our allotments has gone AWOL but before doing so he took away the Queen bee

Which does not tally with you next post .........

so am I to assume there is no queen?

To find out if the tenant has (as you accused) taken the queen you will need to do a hive inspection

[alldigging]

Who owns the hives?
How do you now he took the queen away.
How long has he gone AWOL?

[john9159]

The last time he was seen at the allotments he said "I'm taking the queen bee to a friend". No-one had any inclination what this would mean to the hives/remaining bee population.
As I manage the allotment site single handedly (even though we have some 30 members) I would have little time to manage bee hives as an additional chore; I don't get paid for what I do any ways.
On of the City Council rules (for it is they who own the land which we rent and grow on) stipulates that produce from the site may not be sold for personal gain. Produce may be sold on site, say as part of an open day for example, but the proceeds must be held by the Society.
Of course this becomes a dilemma as why otherwise would an individual go to great expense to buy hives and other equipment were it not for profit.
City Council rules are often outdated as these particular rules go back to c.1926.

[Greenleaves]

Rather than see these already threatened pollinators suffer, would you not be better contacting you local bee keepers association?

Irrespective of time constraints and knowledge at least give them a fighting chance.


Lots of useful information on bee keeping every month in GYO!

[bearded bloke]

Yet again I'm confused first you say ....

none of our committee knew what was involved, me included.

Then here you say ..

I manage the allotment site single handedly .

Has the rest of the committee resigned between those posts ???

IF this person actually has left the allotment site not to return & there is nobody prepared to take on the hives, surely the sensible thing to do would be contact the bee keepers association & ask if they have a nearby member that would take at least the remainder of the swarms away with or without the hives

[bearded bloke]

Who owns the hives?
How do you now he took the queen away.
How long has he gone AWOL?

I would guess the bee keeper does & as they are a fairly expensive piece of kit I can't see him simply walking off & leaving them for someone else to profit by.

That seems to be supposition by OP based on apparent hearsay

Is he actually AWOL, he might be away on holiday, in hospital for some reason, at home ill, etc, I wonder if there has been any real effort made to contact him & discuss the his circumstances.

[Nicos]

To be honest, my first priority would be to make sure the bees are cared for.

How about calling in an expert to see...

- if the queen is still there?
-See if they are OK to fend for themselves or desperately need honey removing ( indication they may have been abandoned)
- do they look healthy
- could they be re-homed if nec?

have you tried to contact the owner?
Surely you have their contact info???
they surely live locally? can you check out their address and go round/ talk to their neighbours to see if they are on holiday?

if there is no response and the expert is concerned for their wellbeing/no queen etc then leaving a notice of removal for their wellbeing??


Just my thoughts on the matter .
A caring site manager - as I presume you are- would go out of their way for the welfare of any wildlife on their site- particularly for desperately needed pollinators!