Queen cells not hatching

[jonathan]

I have never seen a queen in a queenright system get up through the excluder from the bottom box.
I have had the odd virgin emerge early in the top box tear down cells and it is a pain to locate a virgin queen which has the run of several boxes above the excluder.
I work it the same way as Jim rotating brood from the bottom box to the top box every 10-14 days.
Getting back to the original query, I don't think it matters if the cells develop in a queenright cell raiser, finisher colony or incubator. The trick is to do the transfer as late as possible to avoid chilling.
If you hold a cell up to the light you can often see movement inside and then you know for sure you are not inserting a dud cell with a dead queen/pupa inside.

[simplyhoney]

Agreed Jim, most the time it works, but as stated in my previous post and to get back on topic, the larger the colony the greater chance for exposure to bqcv. Why not use a swarm box? Was the way back then, should be the way now.

[Oldtimer]

Don't remember this problem at all pre varroa, which in my country was year 2000.

The last two seasons had quite a bit of what Makin Honey describes, more so this last season. Thought it was just me, then found beekeepers all over my country are having the same issues, some very discouraged beekeepers.

What is it? Don't know, but what's changed is increasing bee diseases, and neonicitinoid use. As per others, I've found that if the cells are not put out till the very last minute, which requires use of an incubator cos the odd one will hatch, the problem is less.

This has made me question my handling of queen cells while putting them out, but can't really find anything wrong. Not doing anything different than I've always done, which used to get virtually 100% hatch.