Week-old eggs in observation hive

[dehavik]

I placed a frame of eggs, open brood, and capped brood in my observation hive last Wednesday, the 9th, and placed it in my basement with a hose entrance/exit running out the window. Every day I have checked the hive to note the progress of the brood. Almost none of the eggs have hatched! The queen is NOT in the hive, and the eggs I'm observing are still sitting there, perfectly placed in the center of each cell.

Are they dead, and the bees just haven't removed them?
Could this be a factor of temperature (which is a constant 60* downstairs)?
Are they somehow dormant and can still hatch?

Also, the bees built a queen cell, were feeding it all day long, and suddenly, after two days, dismantled it. I can't find another. I'll place another frame of eggs in there next week if I have to, but I'm confused as to why they would abandon this crucial project. Any ideas?

The hive seems perfectly healthy and functioning in every other way, except there seems to be a lack of undertaking specialists available to clean up the corpses. ("Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!")

[Dana]

Are you sure you have enough bees to keep the brood warm and raise queen cells? Did you shake in some extra nurse bees when you stocked the hive?

I also keep foam board over the glass on my observation hive when I'm not looking at it. It keeps them warmer and darker.

[Michael Bush]

For eggs to hatch the humidity and the temperatures have to be right. A small enough number of bees or too much ventilation can lead to eggs that never hatch.

[dehavik]

My obs hive is built like a four-frame nuc so that I can keep it outside if I choose. It has sliding panels of wood over the glass to give more insulation and darkness, so the bees can still do a winter cluster, but perhaps there is still too much ventilation. I have two 3/4" ventilation holes right over the brood nest. I think I'll plug these up and just leave them the one on each side of the hive. I'll also add another frame of eggs today and shake a few more bees in there. Thanks for the advice.