Nuc Might Be Queenless

[Jen]

Two nights ago I was quick checking a nuc, saw the queen and marked her pink and saw her go back into the frames. I'm in the process of transfering all my nucs to standard loose bottom boards instead of bottoms that are screwed on. I wanted to catch the queen and set her aside while I made the transfer on this nuc. checked thru all 5 frames 3 times, can't find the pink queen.

Dang! they may have offed her

If in fact this queen is absent, and considering the time of year and how long it will take for them to make another queen and her extended mating time, prob 6 weeks... What should I do if I find queen cells in the process?

[riverbee]

jen is this the same nuc/queen from this thread?:

Nuc Lots Of Drone Brood But Still A Queen Present

[Jen]

Nope, different nuc 

[riverbee]

lol, thanks!..........

and edit and add:

jen look again, if she isn't present combine with another hive..........i would have to do so this time of year. 

[Jen]

Okay, I was leaning that way, still learning nuc stuff. It would actually solve the other nuc situation if I have to do that.

[rober]

what kind of paint did you mark her with?

[Riverrat]

Im guessing they probably groomed it off pink is not a standard marking color.  Here is how the marking works and colors

Years ending:

    1 or 6 - WHITE.
    2 or 7 - YELLOW.
    3 or 8 - RED.
    4 or 9 - GREEN.
    5 or 0 - BLUE.

[Jen]

rober and Riverrat, I use Posca paint pens, scentless bright colors. I have 3 hives and 6 nucs and all those queens are painted pink, and all those queens are still with me. I posted a pic of my first pink queen this spring and Tecumse said that they liked the color pink in their lab as well.

Riverrat, it could be.. maybe.. that the bees groomed the pink off of her, and you got me thinking, but I can't see that it would be because of the color. Their entire world is full of color everyday when they go out into gardens, pink flowers everywhere. The bees aren't aware of that color chart, that is for beekeepers records.

[CBT]

It's always dark in the hive except when we visit.

[Riverrat]

=

Riverrat, it could be.. maybe.. that the bees groomed the pink off of her, and you got me thinking, but I can't see that it would be because of the color. Their entire world is full of color everyday when they go out into gardens, pink flowers everywhere. The bees aren't aware of that color chart, that is for beekeepers records.

It wont be because of the color.  Bees will try to groom any foreign object off the queen. I was wondering what you used as pink is not a normal color for marking queens and had the thought you might have used a marker that was easier groomed off.   

[Les]

Was the paint good and dry when you released her back into the hive?

[Jen]

Yes! I put the fresh marked queens in a queen cage for 5-10 minutes until the paint is dry. Then release her back to the hive.

[riverbee]

jen, bees can and will groom the paint color off the queen, but in your time frame ? and what you said about the rest of your queens marked in pink.  i just think there is a high probability of being queenless of the PINK QUEEN............

[Knucs]

Sometimes those darn queens will be hiding on the side of the box. I've heard of one beek not give up till he found her underneath the bottom board outside the hive!  . Look for eggs before you combine, she could just be a sneaky one.