Unexpected result from test frame: any advice please?

[Beeyonce]

Hi folks

My problem colony again....haven't seen eggs in there since the 8th of July although that day there were two charged queen cups on the bottom of a frame which I broke down and rifled through, seeing nothing in them. On the 15th there were several sealed queen cells but pretty miserable looking things and so broke them all down and put a test frame in on the 17th. Went in today expecting to see a few smart looking queen cells.....not a thing, just sealed and unsealed brood. No eggs anywhere else. Do I have an elusive virgin?

This is a colony which I united with a swarm in the middle of June, only to have the queen disappear within two or three weeks. Am now wondering if the unite was a bit premature and the virgin I saw running in back in at the end of May has been lurking there all this time. Is this possible?

I wish bees could read, sigh, neither of my bee books are giving me any answers this year!

 

[meidel]

if the bees seem calm, more than likely a queen is there, especially since they haven't built QCs on the test frame

 

[Poly Hive]

Sorry to say but it seems you have a queen of some sort in there.

Give it some time yet, the weather as mentioned a few time here has not been mating weather but today certainly is.

PH

 

[Beeyonce]

Thanks PH and meidel....so grasping at straws here but does this possibly mean that the little minx from weeks ago has finally been out partying and that's why there were queen cells last week and not this? Or are my bees just trying to push me over the edge, lol?