How long might a queen be off lay?

[Illo]

Hi everyone -

Does anyone know how long it is typical for queens to stay off lay if they decide to 'take a break'?

I have a nuc with this year's queen. She emerged in the third week of April, took a while to get mated, but since then has had a perfect laying pattern, and all was going well. She went off lay about three or four weeks ago. Last week i put in a frame of open brood in the hope that it would remind her what she should be doing. But no such luck. I see her pretty much every time I look in this colony, patrolling about as happy as can be. The bees are happy enough too. There's plenty of forage around this apiary at the moment,and they have plenty of stores. A couple of weeks I've seen in the past, but this seems to be going on a tad longer than i'm comfortable with.

Or perhaps I'm just being impatient?

L.

 

[oliver90owner]

If four weeks, I would definitely requeen. She may never restart.

She would likely have gone much earlier, for me, unless there was a reason for going off-lay.

 

[farbee]

How long would you have waited Oliver?

 

[kazmcc]

unless there was a reason for going off-lay.

Also, what reasons could there be for a queen to be off-lay?

 

[Finman]

.
During my 50 years I have not met a queen which keep a brake from laying in summer. I have met queens which becomes sick and stop laying. Abdomen is swollen but nothing comes out. Sometimes I have seen a black spot under abdomen's cuticula.

 

[oliver90owner]

what reasons could there be for a queen to be off-lay?

Disease or injury or worn out - normally terminal.

Starvation or (varroa) treatment.

Colony too small to be viable and too cold.

Preparations for swarming.

 

[kazmcc]

Ah, I remember now being told my varroa treatment might cause my queen to stop laying for a while. Thanks for the reminder. Memory like a sieve these days!

 

[Illo]

Yes, when I did an MAQS treatment last year, most of the queens stopped laying for a spell, but it was brief, and they all restarted after a couple of weeks. This one, I think is different. Looking at the dates, it may be 4-5 weeks. It may be time to do the deed.

L.