[Devildog]

The situation:

I bought a nuc on May 10th. My next hive inspection on May 17th revealed that the hive had swarmed. Thankfully the bees left behind a capped queen cell. On the subsequent hive inspection on May 27th, I found the virgin queen crawling around. I figured all is well.

It's now June 14th and the new queen has NOT laid a single egg. The queen has remained on one particular frame and always on the same side - at least every time I check in. The weather her in Asheville, NC has been fairly dry since she's hatched.

The questions:

How long do you wait for a queen to start laying? And, when she starts laying, what if she's just a drone layer?

 

[allan]

I have been told she should be laying at 3 weeks, here is a link that might help

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmath.htm

 

[Harley Craig]

You don't say if she has room to lay, if they swarmed I'm assuming the broodnest was backfilled is it still ?

 

[Devildog]

You don't say if she has room to lay, if they swarmed I'm assuming the broodnest was backfilled is it still ?

The workers have kept her a couple of frames to lay with honey and pollen on the outer edges and the middle empty.

 

[Riverderwent]

"How long do you wait for a queen to start laying?"
You should see eggs and some small larvae by this weekend.

"And, when she starts laying, what if she's just a drone layer?"
Put in a frame with some eggs or very small, open brood, or requeen. Quickly.

 

[Riverderwent]

"How long do you wait for a queen to start laying?"
You should see eggs and some small larvae by this weekend.

"And, when she starts laying, what if she's just a drone layer?"
Put in a frame of small, open brood (if you have it) or requeen. Quickly.

 

[Michael Bush]

If you have a second hive, it's never a bad idea to give a hive a frame of eggs and open brood anytime you are not sure of it's status. The open brood will stave off laying workers, the young brood can be used to raise a queen if necessary and it won't interfere with a new virgin if there is one, nor cost you a lot of money and the life of a mated queen...