What factors limit the number of eggs laid?

[Markthebuilder]

Does a queen limit the number of eggs she lays in accordance with the number of nurse bees that are available
Ie if a queen laid 1000 eggs in a colony without nurse bees who would care for the grubs ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's the workers that control how much she lays, the queen is a laying machine - nothing more,if there aren't enough cells, nurse bees or forage (pollen or nectar) around they will stop feeding her and her laying will decrease or stop

 

[Markthebuilder]

Or to put it another way . If my attempts at raising a queen in a nuc has failed ie VQ disappears will I need to add capped brood with any new queen I introduce

 

[Ian123]

In an ideal world you want young bees raising cells whilst older bees can do it it’s young nurse bees that provide an abundance of brood food. If you are raising cells in Nucs they should at least be of a good size! So yes I’d be adding emerging brood a little before your expecting them to raise cells.