Queen Cell Open Is She In?

[Friar Tuck]

Just did an inspection and the queen cell is open, the cell looks like it has been well cleaned and the entrance is perfectly round nothing inside?

Could not see the new queen either but she would not be marked. No eggs and lots and lots of stores on most frames.

Could a newly hatched queen fit through a QE and be up top?

Should i put a frame of eggs from my other hive into the big hive to see if they make more QC's ?

and should i replace that frame of eggs with capped brood from the big hive.

Good news found the queen and brood at all stages in the Nuc hive Yippeeee

Thanks for all your help

 

[Finman]

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That is a base of queen cell. It means nothing and they are many in the hive.

 

[Friar Tuck]

This was a capped queen cell, but i did not see a larve in there, and i distoryed all the others ( though i was doing the right thing turns out not )

but it was capped and now it is open ?

what to do now?

 

[Hivemaker.]

The virgin has emerged.....hopefully...and will mate in the next couple of weeks or so,weather permitting.....unlikely to get through excluder unless a scrub queen,in which case it can also come back down through the excluder...but the cell looks to be a good size so unlikely.

 

[Finman]

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If it was a long queen cell, there is a virgin queen somewhere. Sometimes it happens that virgin queen and old queen are a week or two in the hive at same time.

 

[Friar Tuck]

Hey Hivemaker, Thats good news yes the cell was very big maybe 30mm, do i just sit back and leave them alone for three weeks?

do i add the test egg frame from your super laying Queen?

The Nuc hive is doing very well building up very fast ;o)

thanks mate

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes just leave them alone now Owen.

 

[Friar Tuck]

Hivemaker in response to your question did the cell have a little flap? the Ans: is nope. but the queen could have emerged any time in the last 7 days and in fact was due 7 days ago, could the flap have fallen off in this time? been knocked off by a bee, or just cleaned out but the workers?

shall i still just let them get on with it for a few weeks? or bung in the test frame of eggs?

 

[Tom Bick]

It all looks good Owen the photo made the queen cell look like a queen cup though but as you said it was 30mm long it is the right description.

The flap will fall off soon after the queen has emerged and if she emerged from your calculations up to 7 days ago and if she is fit and well will perhaps be on mating flights so best to leave well alone for a couple more weeks although its hard to do that at times.

What you dont want to happen is for the queen to return from a mating flight as you are looking through the hive.

After say two weeks and you are still concerned perhaps then try a test frame.

 

[susbees]

And what you don't want to happen is to lose your possibly unmated or newly mated queen in the grass or damage her as the propped frames tumble. Our boxes ain't perfect this season, but by next the commercials will all run dummy board, frames, then replace dummy at the far end....then no need for a propped frame anywhere and no damage on pulling the first.

 

[Friar Tuck]

Thanks people... I will leave well alone or a couple of weeks. my AS hive is going for it with all gun's blazing, so hope all go's well.

Thanks Again


Owen