[Robbin]

I put a frame with queen cells in a QC. 4 weeks later, there is a very large queen in there. Not a small virgin. A very big bodied queen, but not an egg, larva or capped brood anywhere. I first checked 3 weeks ago and found her right away. Now 3 weeks later, still not laying. They had eaten the honey on the frame so I added a frame of honey. There is lots of pollen on her brood frame but at least half the frame is empty, so lots of room to lay. The numbers in the nuc are starting to dwindle. Do I add a frame of brood and continue or cut my losses and combine with another hive.

 

[r hayden]

Don't panic yet. she may be a slow starter. I think Michael Bush has said it can take up to 3 weeks for her to start laying.
If you can add a frame with eggs/young larva, with the attached nurse bees, so they can raise a new queen if they feel they need to. If they don't need to make a new queen you have pumped up their population a little.
As long as you have drones it's probably not too late for Fla.

 

[Harley Craig]

Don't panic yet. she may be a slow starter. I think Michael Bush has said it can take up to 3 weeks for her to start laying.
If you can add a frame with eggs/young larva, with the attached nurse bees, so they can raise a new queen if they feel they need to. If they don't need to make a new queen you have pumped up their population a little.
As long as you have drones it's probably not too late for Fla.

This has also been know to get a queen to start laying kinda tells her to **** or get off the pot so to speak, that or she lacks nurse bees to cover brood which this will help too.