[Slow Drone]

It takes a bit sometimes for them to settle in.If he set you up right, there probably is still larvae of age for them to build some queen cells .If he gave you the wrong frames from a hive that just swarmed there might not be brood the right age for queen cells.We all make mistakes.If you paid good money for them it already sounds to me he'll make it right.Be patient either way they'll be okay.If you buy another queen and there's a queen already the workers will ball her.I'd hate to see you lose money on her.Curious are they British Black Bees?If so I'm envious,very fond of black and dark bees I am.Remember be patient,most beekeepers suffer some kind of anxiety with their fist hive I know I did.Good luck be patient and welome to the world of beekeeping.

 

[Slow Drone]

Absolutely beautiful bees.Not blacks but look very much like some of my bees which are Buckfast carniolan Italian cross.I also have some Russian carniolan italian cross I believe crossed with the Buckfast.Some of my rci's have black bee in them,look very much alike.I call them pedigree mutts but they produce very well,are very gentle to work with,but don't get them riled they settle down just not to quickly.I can tell when they have queen cells going, they'll let me know I'm invading their privacy.I don't care if a bee is pure bred or not only that they are resistant to what nature throws at them,that they're gentle and they produce.Color really hasn't any significance but I truly am infatuated with all races of dark bees.We do still have black bees in are area they not extinct like most think.These are quite defensive for the most part but I had some when I was a kid(50 yrs. or so ago)that were quite gentle.Michael Bush might be able to I.D. them.My bees winter well and winter in a small cluster.Thanks for posting the picture it very much pleases me!

 

[Slow Drone]

I study beekeeping all over the world.I'm not a narrow minded individual.I'll learn from anyone that I can.I believe in the UK most bees are more docile than what we keep across the pond from you.In general what I've learned is what we consider docile other countries consider the opposite.Some countries have bees they consider docile we think the opposite.It's amazing to me how the tempermant of bees and their behavior can change so much geographically.Caucasian and Carniolan always appear lazy to me,but I think they're just kind of laid back(chilin if you will)Italians work quite nicely when crossed with most.Hope to chat again take care and enjoy!:banana:

 

[Slow Drone]

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, been busy in the queen yard(taking a break right now) Looks like drones and a few workers. As you describe would be drone cells that are domed. Workers are capped flat. In foundationless you'll see a lot of drone cells at first then it'll taper off to more worker cells. You can measure the cells from flat to flat across ten cells. Example 5.4 centimeters divided by ten would be 5.4 millimeters. Worker cells are smaller than drone cells. I really enjoy your pictures! Beautiful dark bees I really like those dark bees:thumbsup: How many frames wih larvae? 14 frames in 28 days :applause: I run foundationless langs and find they draw comb quicker without foundation. Check on them in about a week to see how much worker cells are capped. Let us know. I'll keep an eye out for you around 5 AM your time.

 

[Slow Drone]

More than likely well fed workers. The dome on a drone cell would look like a 7mm ball cut in half. Second look I'd say more worker than drone cells. Queens are keeping me busier than a one legged man on a rollerskate! They're good sized queens, trying to figure out what went so right. Mating success is way above average so far. Have to finish going through mating nucs after supper. The only difference is that I'm using frames I've built using ideas I've gotten from UK beekeepers. I think they're more efficient than the standard lang frames.:thumbsup: