I have a hive that I split from 6 1/2 weeks ago, taking the queen and a couple combs of brood. I checked back 2 weeks after the split and there were 3 or 4 capped queen cells, so I let it go to do its thing. I finally got around to checking on it again this past week, and there was no queen that I could find, and no eggs or larvae. However, there was a small patch of capped brood, maybe 10 sq. in total. The hive roared like a jet engine the entire time I was in it. It appears a queen may have mated and returned, started laying and then succumbed to whatever.
I gave the hive one comb of mixed brood, eggs, larvae, to make a queen. My question is, is it too late for them to make a queen, have her mated and laying, and for brood to emerge before it runs critically low on bees? Should I bite the bullet and get a queen ordered ASAP?
I gave the hive one comb of mixed brood, eggs, larvae, to make a queen. My question is, is it too late for them to make a queen, have her mated and laying, and for brood to emerge before it runs critically low on bees? Should I bite the bullet and get a queen ordered ASAP?