do i need to buy new queens?

[woody]

i posted in new members already but I'm afraid i need to take immediate action. my hive swarmed or absconded (not sure of difference) anyhow i got some of the bees into a hive body i had also i found the queen (marked with yellow dot that i got with package last June) I also put her in hive. when i came home from work i checked in on new hive and found it almost empty (were still some bees but not alot) didn't find queen either. So i looked in old hive and found no queen/s at all. Now I'm very new at this i could have missed them. but i looked at all frames 2 times. where could my marked queen have gone? and would she have left original hive if new queen wasn't there yet? so in a panic i called a friend and he said i need to get rid of queen cells in old hive so they dint swarm again. hope i didn't screw up. I'm gonna go in both again to morrow to see if i can find queen. if i dint find them should i order 2 new queens? also when virgin queen leaves to mate is she gone for days? should i wait to see if she returns? I thought i was doing good after making it through winter this is so discouraging. please help!!!!      Thanks, woody


 

[Brian D. Bray]

Check your newbee posting, I answered your questions there.