I've got two new hives, installed March 24.
They were both doing well. A couple of weeks ago I asked about when to add a second box because they looked like they were really starting to get full.
I found in one hive, several swarm cells (about 6 I think) all off the bottom of the frames. There were still a couple of frames which had not been filled out so I decided to hold off on the additional box and just keep an eye on things.
About a week later I inspected the hive and could not locate the queen. I'd marked her several weeks prior. But I just owned it up to her hiding well. The population had grown even more so I went ahead and stuck the new box on both hives.
Later that week I went back though the hive and still could not locate the queen. The swarm cells were all still in place so I figured it'd all work out.
Last week I opened it up and what do you know. There was a nice fat queen running around on of the frames in the bottom box. I marked her. She was the only queen I saw. Three swarm cells were open, and I guess they took down the other two or three.
This week I went back into the hive and that new queen is no where to be found. I don't see any signs of eggs being laid.
Should I give it a few days and go back though the hive?
Should I go ahead and stick a frame of freshly laid brood from the other hive?
It doesn't look like I've lost any significant amount of the population. I am assuming none swarmed.
I'm assuming the new queen killed the other queens, assuming they were viable to start with. She did look swollen, so I would have though she was mated, but as I said I don't see any signs of eggs. Maybe she wasn't mated yet?
When I marked the original queen, I caught her by hand. A speck of paint got on one of her wings, but she laid for a couple of weeks afterward, so I doubted that I damaged her.
When I marked the new queen I used one of those one hand catchers. It went smooth enough. I am assuming if she was still a virgin, marking her would not have mattered?
Any thoughts?
