Sorry for so many questions, but I'm about to pull my hair out, which would be really hard since what little that I have left on my head is shaved. LOL
What sort of numbers do you guys run on % of queens that successfully mate and return to lay eggs? If my calculations are correct then yesterday was the first possible laying date for my nucs. As of today I had 2 queens laying in 6 nucs. 33% is a crappy success rate, IMO. I know that there can still be queens that haven't started laying yet so what I need to know is how long should I wait until I combine the nucs back with a hive or add a frame of open brood to allow them to make another queen. Is there any reason to check them again before next Saturday?
Also, are 10-20 bees at the reduced entrance that are "butt up" fanning nasonov a sign that the queen is gone on a mating flight?
On a positive note, the two queens that are laying are doing really well. Both nucs had large areas of eggs on one frame each. They looked like professionals at work.
And finally a question about comb.....
Two of the nucs that I didn't see the queen or any eggs in, had frames that looked ready for eggs, if there is such a thing. There was a honey band around the top, extending slightly down each end, and the remaining cells, where the eggs/larvae would normally be, were polished. Not a single cell in the normal brood area of the comb had any nectar or pollen in a single cell. The cells were clean and dry looking. It appeared to me that the cells had been cleaned spotless, "trued" up and looked ready for eggs. Can I read anything into that, or is that what bees would normally do regardless of the status of having a queen mating, mated or being queenless?
What sort of numbers do you guys run on % of queens that successfully mate and return to lay eggs? If my calculations are correct then yesterday was the first possible laying date for my nucs. As of today I had 2 queens laying in 6 nucs. 33% is a crappy success rate, IMO. I know that there can still be queens that haven't started laying yet so what I need to know is how long should I wait until I combine the nucs back with a hive or add a frame of open brood to allow them to make another queen. Is there any reason to check them again before next Saturday?
Also, are 10-20 bees at the reduced entrance that are "butt up" fanning nasonov a sign that the queen is gone on a mating flight?
On a positive note, the two queens that are laying are doing really well. Both nucs had large areas of eggs on one frame each. They looked like professionals at work.
And finally a question about comb.....
Two of the nucs that I didn't see the queen or any eggs in, had frames that looked ready for eggs, if there is such a thing. There was a honey band around the top, extending slightly down each end, and the remaining cells, where the eggs/larvae would normally be, were polished. Not a single cell in the normal brood area of the comb had any nectar or pollen in a single cell. The cells were clean and dry looking. It appeared to me that the cells had been cleaned spotless, "trued" up and looked ready for eggs. Can I read anything into that, or is that what bees would normally do regardless of the status of having a queen mating, mated or being queenless?