I suppose it was predictable that such an early start would lead to some disappointments. I split a massive colony at the beginning of April, as they already had Q cells that were nearly sealed. Of the two splits, one queen managed to mate OK, the other didn't, and her nuc was reunited with the original (along with a large number of drones!).
The other nuc did brilliantly and filled out a 6-frame nuc throughout May, and I was hoping to put them into a full-size brood box this weekend. But no: that queen has now stopped laying, the nuc which was nice and heavy last w/e is now alarmingly light, and I opened the lid today to give them some food and the nuc is packed with starving bees and empty cells. There's nectar about, but those bees aren't such strong fliers as my other colony, and the strong winds have put them off completely.
Meanwhile, the hived swarm is foraging well despite the wind, and filling supers with bramble honey, but I noticed no new eggs in the last three days despite seeing the (usually-prolific) queen looking perfectly OK. I guess they know best.
My plans to get a locally-bred queen have also been put on hold, as so many promising virgin queens appear to have got blown off course on mating flights and didn't return, resulting in a disappointing couple of weeks for local suppliers. The only consolation is that the year is yet young....
