Leo Walford wrote:
 
>  Dear addicted (welcome to the club!).
 
The likelihood is that the queen dropped off when you were examining the
hive previous and had been crawling around trying to get back into the
chamber.Yes, it will be a good idea to check and see if she is laying
and to check for queen cells.  A good strong hive will miss their queen
soon and start making replacement queen cells.  When the queen gets back
to her duties she will lay eggs in those cells also and you will have a
bunch a new queens having a battle.
Good luck.  I hope I did help you.  Don't hesitate to write for more
questions if you care.
Best regards.
Dr. Rodriguez