After posting pics of my frames with no brood to our FB page, several folks commented that I may need a queen. They all look like this one. This is a new hive that we got as a nuc in April and we are newbies. Anyone with a queen willing to take a look and confirm? I would be happy to purchase from you if we indeed need one.
Thanks,
Melissa
Melissa, can you find any eggs or larvae? If nothing is seen you can wait a week and check again. If no eggs or larvae, is there evidence of an open queen cell or one partially torn down? If so they may have made a new queen who is still gearing up. If so, wait a week and look for eggs or larvae. If there are no eggs, no larvae and no evidence of a new queen, take a frame from another hive that has brood, larvae and most importantly eggs standing upright. They are fresh enough for the bees to create a queen from. Put the frame in and "leave them alone" for 10 day or two weeks. Check for a queen cell and hope. If there are not many drones around, she might not get well mated. Or, buy a queen and hope they accept her. If however there is a new queen in your hive, they will not accept her. There are lots of reference books, online blogs and videos that deal with every aspect of this. Good luck!