Hi flow hive members,
Seeking advice on what to do.
Approx 3 weeks ago a new queen was introduced in a brood box and at first the colony received her well. I have not seen the queen since the 20 December there is plenty of pollen stores, uncapped honey, drone cells and lavae although in small numbers
Should I be worried about not sighting the queen
Hi Nigel, welcome to the forum.
If you’re not seeing any worker brood in any stage, it’s time to be concerned. One thing you could do is try to acquire a frame of brood containing lots of worker eggs to use as a test frame. Then check it after 5 days. That’s still not a 100% sure thing on account that when laying workers are active, a colony most likely wont build emergency queens.
Having said that, check it in 5 days to look for emergency queen cells, otherwise continue looking for evidence of a queen, or evidence of a laying worker.
You know you have a laying worker when you find worker cells with brood that the bees have raised a lot higher than normal, with domed caps. The bees extend the worker cells containing drone larvae (from a laying worker) so as to accommodate the extra size of the drones.
Let us know if you do find evidence of a laying worker, we can talk you through it.
PS. It’s also worth pointing out that while a laying worker is active, a colony will still produce honey and pollen as food for the drone larvae they are producing.
Cheers