Its interesting to watch this discussion,  as a commercial beek,  this is a fairly common problem.  In summer its been normal to see about 20% queen losses.  Mostly swarms or supercedure missed but  handleing,  pulling supers and shaking bees also contribute to overall numbers.  Many splits  and such shes missed or damaged.

In that I see 50 or better laying workers every season.  If there are enough bees  left to be of value,  a simple frame of brood with a queen on it cures it the vast majority of the time.   If shes not laying strongly (the worker) a queen cage placed away from that area (mated queen)  is the second best choice, although many of these they will not accept.


If they don’t take the first try replacement,  they are left to die.


Charles

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