The mystery of the Moon solved

Last Friday (16th May) I went to inspect the nuc, hoping to mark the queen there and once again opened up the Moon to see what - if anything - was going on in there. This was more a way to kill time, as I had three pupils with me with the promise to witness the marking of a queen, but the nuc queen was not playing ball and was untraceable. So, to give the nuc time to settle again (and the queen to think about her ways), I opened up the Moon.

Depressingly empty Moon comb

Once again, a general feeling of abandonment reigned in the Moon with all comb empty of brood. This is not good, but one positive side of it all is that there cannot be many varroa in the Moon as there is no brood for them to propagate in.

Then, out of the blue, on one of the frames I was checking more perfunctorily than anything, I saw a queen. Now, I know I have not been good at finding queens (especially unmarked ones), but this was definitely a queen. I quickly separated the frame from the others and scrutinised it closely. Of course, I found no trace of the queen, no matter how hard I looked or how gently I brushed aside the other bees.

Where's that dratted queen?

The presence of the queen explains why the Moon is so calm (though slowly dying, Egypt, dying). She has obviously not mated yet (what is she waiting for? - the weather has been great!), so I hope she does that very soon, or else I will have to get rid of her, a prospect I do not relish, and put the nuc queen in the Moon. But good to know there IS a queen there.