Your purchased MARKED queen simply flew away, and returned later and of course
was accepted.  Then she started to lay about 2-3 days later.

Did you make a mistake with the queen cage placement?  A wooden screened queen
cage should be VERTICALLY hung between two hive frames with CANDY SIDE up, to
prevent dead attendant bees from blocking the entrance hole.

So many people just don't understand the TIME involved in the procedures or
techniques of beekeeping.  Had you lost the MARKED queen, depending on the date
the
queen cells you added later were capped, it could have been 8 more days
before a virgin queen emerged, about another 6-8 days before she went out to mate,
and another 2-3 days before she laid her first egg, totaling as much as 19
days plus
another 21 = 40 days before the first egg laid emerges as a new worker bee.

Perhaps you should STUDY or READ much more about honey bee gestation and bee
behavior.  If your bees are going to "do well", it is up-to-you to know a
great deal
about them, so you can HELP them to dramatically improve over what they have
historically done in the wild.

I hope I have helped.  Maybe you should read my PINK PAGES that are on many
Internet programs FREE OF CHARGE.

George W. Imirie, Jr.
Certified EAS Master Beekeeper
Starting my 73rd year of beekeeping in central Maryland
Past President of Maryland State Beekeepers
Past Maryland Delegate to the National Honey Board
Founder and still President for 20 years of Maryland's largest beekeepers
association with 175 members and 10 Master Beekeepers
Author of George's PINK PAGES monthly for the past 15 years
Author of American Beekeeping Federation Newsletter Hobbyist's Tips

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