OK so i found the queen again. She had an egg on the end of her abdomen, i watched her for a good 5 minutes and i think i saw her dipping in the cells but not very often. I do see eggs and small larvae in the hive with problems. The supersedure cell is full of jelly and about to be capped i believe. I’ve reached out to a local keeper to see if i can get a replacement queen. With both hives being new I’m worried about there being enough drones in the other hive to properly fertilize the virgin queen if i allow the supersedure. The other (polystyrene) hive is doing awesome. Brood everywhere and capped stores around them. very tight brood patterns, if there’s a space then it has an egg or larvae in it.
So… should i allow the supersedure? Requeen? I see now why people recommend two hives so that if one is failing then you can put a frame of brood in the other. I do have SOME drones in the other hive that came with the package but probably 10-15.
Advice please.
Queen Cell with royal Jelly:
Starting to see new brood:
Oddly shaped bullet cells… drones?