unexpected queen cell

[CarolW]

Thoughts please: I was kindly given a nuke by a friend but on transferring it to a hive today I found an unsealed queen cell almost full-length, amongst very few eggs. Some cells had two in. There were also a few larvae and a good amount of sealed brood. I saw the queen. Should I leave them to it and raise a new queen as it looks like supersedure? Here are the bald facts:

QC raised from top box of Demaree transferred to polynuc 22/05/21
Eggs seen 08/06/21
BIAS. Q marked 15/06/21.
Transferred three miles to me,17/06/21
QC discovered 21/06/21
Weather: has been glum for the past week although a few bees are pottering out now and then.

 

[hemo]

How packed was the Nuc and how much laying space ?
Bees may be sensing a poorly mated queen or bees might just be hedging their bets until she is laying well.

Knock the QC back and see what they do in the BB.

 

[CarolW]

There were six frames, both the outer ones had stores. All were covered with bees on this chilly drizzly afternoon. There were more empty cells than ones with eggs in and the laying pattern was erratic, little patches here and there.

Other options might be for me to leave the qc in place and introduce the Q into one of my queenless hives.

 

[hemo]

If one of mine I would likely knock the cell back and wait and see, though if you have QL colony make use of her and let them raise the new Q.

 

[Finman]

Other options might be for me to leave the qc in place and introduce the Q into one of my queenless hives.

It is better to buy a new queen than rear a queen from apiary'd most miserable colony.

If you rear now a queen, it takes almost a month, that it starts to lay.