Major screwup tonight. In my yard working bees. Had a hive preparing to swarm 1 cell was capped but it was connected to the frame below it as well and it ripped in half when I separated the boxes. Found queen on a frame and set her frame aside in a nuc box to make a split. The frame she was on had a lot of open nectar. Guy pulls in and starts talking to me about wanting to buy a nuc from me as soon as they're ready. We exchange information and he leaves. By the time I go back to the nuc the queen was in (lid wasn't put on, still the single frame with bees/ queen on it) the bees were acting a little frantic running around no fighting but not acting right. I start looking- the queen is gone! I looked in the rest of the box, in the grass, all around she's just gone. I put the frame back in the main hive and closed it back up as it started pouring rain. This queen was mated in a different yard so I doubt she knows which hive was hers to go back into.
I plan on trying to get back in it tomorrow to see if she happened to make it back. If she didn't what's my next course of action? Since no bees swarmed will they do it when the first virgin hatches? They have a beautiful cell that should be capped in a day or 2 at the most. I got rid of most of the other cells to hopefully prevent after swarms. What's the odds that the new queen will hatch and then mate and the bees forget about wanting to swarm? They have a super on now but still plenty of room to fill it before they really need another one.
I'm not sure what happened but I think maybe other bees came to steal the nectar on the frame and ended up balling her. I never seen them do it, nor could I find her, but I'm not sure what else could have happened.
I plan on trying to get back in it tomorrow to see if she happened to make it back. If she didn't what's my next course of action? Since no bees swarmed will they do it when the first virgin hatches? They have a beautiful cell that should be capped in a day or 2 at the most. I got rid of most of the other cells to hopefully prevent after swarms. What's the odds that the new queen will hatch and then mate and the bees forget about wanting to swarm? They have a super on now but still plenty of room to fill it before they really need another one.
I'm not sure what happened but I think maybe other bees came to steal the nectar on the frame and ended up balling her. I never seen them do it, nor could I find her, but I'm not sure what else could have happened.