Nuc queen

After my worry with the Moon, I decided to open up the nuc, to see whether the second queen cell had developed into a queen. As I knew the nuc wouldn't swarm, I thought checking the nuc might give me a hint as to what might have happened with the Moon.

This inspection didn't take very long as there are only three fully functional frames in the nuc (and two new ones, which the bees have not drawn out yet). At first I continued puzzled, but I then discovered eggs and larvae - so the nuc had a new queen that was laying! I could barely suppress a whoop of joy.

Brood! (the little white, worm-like thing)

But where was the queen? The open queen cell was easy to see, but the queen remained elusive.

The empty queen cell

It was then I saw a large cadaver lying on the floor of the hive. Surely not! I examined the body and found it to be a drone. So where was she? I finally found her, as shy as all bee queens are, running from the light. I wanted to mark her there and then, but she slipped away from me, just as I was bringing my equipment to bear.

At least I have one good, laying queen. Am very relieved about that. My plans are to mark her on Friday and, should the Moon remain queenless, introduce her into the Moon. If the Moon queen suddenly makes an appearance (she might be a bit of a diva), then I can requeen the Star with the new Moon queen, hoping she will be as prolific as her grandmother and mother (makes me realise that I've already been through quite a number of queens...).

All still very exciting!