# Defensive hives after split



## Gene Pun (Mar 27, 2015)

Two of my hives were booming with bees and had swarm cells so I took the queens from these two hives, some brood and honey and put them in a nuc. I left the two hives to make their own queens. This was a week ago and since then the hives are really defensive and I have been stung twice with no warning and not even close to the hives. Will they settle down or should I look for two new queens and remove all the queen cells? Earlier this spring I split my other two hives but gave them new queens and had no problems and all four hives are doing well but this is the first time I have left them to make their own queens. Any suggestions?


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

If thy were fine before you split, they didn't change their genetics in two weeks, I suspect they maybe queenless testy. I'd give them a couple more weeks to get a mated queen.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

This is sound advice from Eikel. The harmony within a hive is controlled not only by queen pheromones but by those produced by brood. as brood within a queenless hive matures there are not only a a lack of queen pheromones but a decrease in brood pheromones. This gives the hive a feeling of despair. It will subside as queen cells ripen and a queen emerges, and brood begins being produced.


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