Monday, I was working in my queen rearing/nuc-making apiary, and afterwards had two 5-frame medium nucs (both without adult bees), one with five combs on top bars, full of brood, pollen, and honey - with a cultured queen cell scheduled to emerge on Wed or Thur - the other with combs in frames, also with brood, pollen, and honey, but without a queen cell. I moved them to my other apiary, the one with full size hives. I had intended to place them in full size colonies, where they would be most useful in fortifying any weaker colonies. I planned to place the comb with the cultured queen cell into any colony that could use a new queen.
Well, I'm adjusting to a new medicine and didn't feel up to completing my work with these combs, until late this afternoon (Thursday). After I had prepared a place for the top bar combs, first, I lifted out the comb containing the cultured queen cell, and since it had been left out, exposed to the weather, and with some ants eating some of the combs contents, I expected the cell to be dead, so I reached down to pluck it from its place in the comb and discard it. Instead I noticed that the end of the cell had some slight movement. I expected the movement was ants attacking the queen pupa to eat it. As I looked more closely I realized the movement was the queen, soon after she completed her emergence. She is a nice looking Cordovan Italian virgin, whom I placed in a colony in need of a new queen.
Well, I'm adjusting to a new medicine and didn't feel up to completing my work with these combs, until late this afternoon (Thursday). After I had prepared a place for the top bar combs, first, I lifted out the comb containing the cultured queen cell, and since it had been left out, exposed to the weather, and with some ants eating some of the combs contents, I expected the cell to be dead, so I reached down to pluck it from its place in the comb and discard it. Instead I noticed that the end of the cell had some slight movement. I expected the movement was ants attacking the queen pupa to eat it. As I looked more closely I realized the movement was the queen, soon after she completed her emergence. She is a nice looking Cordovan Italian virgin, whom I placed in a colony in need of a new queen.