TexasBeeSam · Texas, US · Queens · Nov 5, 2026
Queen still laying solid brood pattern in mid-November in Central Texas — should I be worried?
Inspected my five colonies yesterday near Austin. Weather has been mild—daytime highs around 21°C, nights around 10°C. Aster and broomweed are winding down, but there's still trickle forage.
Three of my colonies have shrunk their brood nests down to roughly two frames of capped brood, which seems reasonable. But my newest colony (requeened in August with an Italian/Carniolan hybrid) still has five deep frames of brood across all stages, including fresh eggs and two full frames of larvae.
They have about 18 kg of capped honey in the upper box, but at this rate of brood rearing, they're going to devour half of that before December even starts. Is this continuous laying normal for southern genetics in mild autumns, or is she failing to register the photoperiod change?
#fall-brood#queen-laying#texas#winter-stores
▲ 2 votes
💬 3 replies
GeorgiaWes · Nov 5, 2026
Standard behavior for young Italian queens down South, @TexasBeeSam. They will lay right through until our first hard frost in late December. Just keep your hand on the scale. When that brood hatches, they will burn through stores like a furnace.
SourwoodGrace · Nov 5, 2026
Same story in NC with young queens. They just don't want to stop. You'll likely need to throw a winter sugar board or fondant on that box come January because they're turning honey into bees right now.
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