Play cups

[Doey]

Any advice welcome, I inspected the bees yesterday and found 5/6 play cups with eggs in 4 of them, I'm thinking this is maybe them starting to prep to swarm but I also read that eggs in play cups is not uncommon?
I closed them up to have a think of the next step im going to take and I'm planning to go back in today and put the queen in a nuc with a couple of frames of brood and a frame of stores.
Just for reference they are in a national brood box and a half although they are yet to move into the half yet, the main brood box has brood across 9 frames with a good mix of worker and drone brood and 3 frames of stores.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Swift Nick]

I would take another look in 2 or 3 days if you can, and see if they are developing the cups. It is a bit disruptive taking the queen out if they aren’t preparing to swarm.
If the do make swarm preparations, then queen to nuc is a good shout, it has worked well for me this year.

 

[Doey]

I forgot to mention it looked like a few of the cups contained a small amount of royal jelly, not a great amount but some all the same.
I did intend to take a nuc from this hive at some point this year so maybe now is a good a time as any?

 

[Dodge]

Any amount of royal jelly and they intend to turn it into a queen cell and progress it.

 

[Finman]

If play cups are empty, it means nothing.
When they have eggs, it means swarming.

You just happened to inspect that day the hive. 3 days later eggs are larvae.

 

[Finman]

I forgot to mention it looked like a few of the cups contained a small amount of royal jelly, not a great amount but some all the same.
I did intend to take a nuc from this hive at some point this year so maybe now is a good a time as any?

Start to make padgen system. And do AS with foundations.