Should I be worried?

[Rachelw]

I have just had my first look at my bees. The regional bee inspector, who is a member of our local association and lives close by, offered to come with me - so I welcomed him with open arms! All was going well - they have drawn out a couple of frames already and there were eggs, larvae and sealed brood and they all look healthy. We found the Queen in the middle of a frame and then all of a sudden she wasn't there! The bee inspector is worried she may have flown away. He has told me to check tomorrow and let him know. Should I be worried? If she had flown, will she go back to the hive?

 

[Heather]

Was she marked- more likely she moved onto another frame - they can be skittish. Only worry if no eggs in 3 days time- leave till then to let them be...
And if she flitted she may well come back- just check no bees clustering under the hive - in case she dropped off- but think the bee inspector should have been aware of that possibility!

 

[Mike a]

Was she marked- more likely she moved onto another frame - they can be skittish. Only worry if no eggs in 3 days time- leave till then to let them be...
And if she flitted she may well come back- just check no bees clustering under the hive - in case she dropped off- but think the bee inspector should have been aware of that possibility!

100%

She should find her way back if she flew off, but you should of heard a completely different sounding buzz if she did.
In the immortal words printed in large friendly letters on the front cover of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy " Don't Panic "

 

[Midland Beek]

As per previous posts, an egg is an egg for three days. And if the queen flew the workers would by now be busy raising emergency queen cells on young larvae - these are things that you can't really miss.

 

[Rachelw]

Thanks for your reassurance. I plan to leave them to settle for a couple of days and then look after the weekend. Am I right in thinking that if the queen has gone then by monday there will be uncapped queen cells?

Rachel