REGARDING           Re:No Brood in nuc
 
Mary Sellhorn writes:
"I started a nuc three weeks ago with a frame that had a queen cell on it and
four brood
frames with honey and pollen.  I looked in about a week later and it looked
like the queen had hatched.  Today I looked in there and there are lots of
bees but only a little
tiny bit of sort of old looking brood.  I looked very carefully for the queen
and couldn't find one.  What do you think?  Should I order another queen or
try to combine it with another hive?  Or is it possible that the queen is
small and I couldn't find her?  If this is the case then why hasn't she laid
any eggs yet?"
 
It looks like the queen has been lost, very likely on a mating flight.  It's
sort of late to order another queen for this nuc - they may well not accept
her.  It would be better, in my opinion, to recombine this nuc with another
hive, then order a queen for a new split made up with younger brood and young
bees.
 
Ted Fischer