I am a new hobbyist, a rare breed, I am told.
 
In April/May 94 I established my first hive from a 3 pound package.  It was
weak because the first Queen wasn't accepted, and the first replacement
queen never arrived.  The second replacement queen was accepted, and by
feeding the hive continuously through last fall and winter, the population
expanded in March and April of this year, finally almost completely building
out the comb in the two deep brood boxes.  In early May, expecting a bumper
crop of honey, I added a queen excluder and a super.
 
Today, I checked the hive and found:
 
No brood.  There was lots all spring until mid May.
No bees in the super.
Two brood boxes heavy with honey
More drones than I had seen previously
A still strong population
No queen cells
 
My conclusion is that I have lost my queen.  This is a weak hive.  If I had
several other hives, I would combine this one with another.  I had been
planning on starting one or two more hives this year, but didn't get around
to it.
 
Is it too late to requeen?  Where can I get a new queen on short notice?
**************************************
Blair Reischer
[log in to unmask]   voice:  703/241-7857
4841 N. 30th St., Arlington, VA  22207
***************************************