When do new cells get polished?

[ruffle]

Question: When in the life cycle of a caste being housed do they start polishing cells?

Background: Caught a smallish swarm/caste on the 24th May and they've been housed in a Poly Nuke being fed 1:1 syrup. Pretty sure the queen was present as the bees balled under the OMF whilst being collected and we heard her piping.

They have got really really fiesty over the last few days (possibly since the lid blew off on the 9th) to the extent that I got stung on the eyebrow (eye very swollen; told everyone Her Indoors had beaten me up again!!) whilst innocently watching another hive some 10 meters away from the nuke and they've now started following for 50 meters or so

So today (3 weeks after being housed) I decided to have a look.

The best part of three frames drawn, textbook arcs of honey and pollen but no signs of polished cells (all the cells are waxy white not propolis brown) and no signs of eggs or lava.

Couldn't find the queen despite much looking so I'm starting to think they're Q-

Of course... with the horrid weather recently it could just be that queenies not managed to mate yet - hence the question about polishing.

Can the lack or presence of polished cells tell me anything?

 

[mojomoo]

Good Question, I have always understood it to be a good sign but not sure if it actually proves anything?
I am eager to see an answer

 

[Erichalfbee]

What's your weather been like?
Last year I had to wait six weeks for a new queen to lay.
Might be worth giving it another week but with three colonies you can afford to introduce a test frame.
Polished cells.......
Well old brood cells are shiny but new wax looks just like new wax. I've never noticed any brown propolis in newly drawn foundation.

 

[Poly Hive]

The brown is mainly cocoons left over.

Give them time and stop the feeding.

PH

 

[gavin]

I'd interpret cleared space in the brood area, an arc of pollen around it, feisty bees, and cells *not* polished as a sign they think something will happer but not quite yet. They may be wrong though .....