new queen laying pattern

[rober]

made a split with a frame with swarm cells about 3 weeks ago. the hive now has a laying queen. how long does it take for queens to shift into gear? right now there's 1 frame about 2/3 full on 1 side & 1/2 full on the other side & a touch of brood on another frame. the queen was 3 frames away from the brood. there were quite a few drones around when she hatched.
 2 other swarm cell queens in nucs have produced a lot more brood.
 

[capt44]

She's fine just give her a chance to get to the swing of things.
By her being a couple of frames over, well if I was on a frame and someone started pulling frames I'd run too!

[Colobee]

It is generally accepted that it will take three- 3 week "brood cycles" ( nine, in all) for a new colony to build out. This is also dependent on natural flows ( the timing of the weather )and or supplemental feeding.  Something as seemingly inconsequential as one queen being mated a few days earlier and then beginning to lay a few days before or after another can have a profound affect on the appearance & development of a new colony  in the early stages.
 
Once the queen is laying, she may need several weeks (3 to 6) to grow a colony that can support her ability to lay.

[Jen]

Oh! and a queen won't lay more eggs than there is nurse bees to cover it. Give her a few weeks, if not better maybe give this hive some nurse bees from another hive 

[rober]

there are a lot of bees in this hive. i'll check in a couple of weeks. this queen was the 1st to hatch & I believe to mate in the 3 splits i made from the swarm cells & she's producing the least amount of brood of the 3. like I said I found here meandering around 3 frames away from the nearest brood.

[Perry]

It is generally accepted that it will take three- 3 week "brood cycles" ( nine, in all) for a new colony to build out. This is also dependent on natural flows ( the timing of the weather )and or supplemental feeding.  Something as seemingly inconsequential as one queen being mated a few days earlier and then beginning to lay a few days before or after another can have a profound affect on the appearance & development of a new colony  in the early stages.
 
Once the queen is laying, she may need several weeks (3 to 6) to grow a colony that can support her ability to lay.

Good answer right there.

[rwlaw]

I've had a couple queens like that in the past, wandering around the frames and looking like they're thinking "what am I supposed to do here". Maybe the cheese slipped off their cracker or something, cause it was odd the way they acted.
 One of them was actually went up to a cell of nectar being tended by a couple of workers, got right in the middle of them like she was asking for directions, pretty quick she was back to taking a stroll. The other I could tell something wasn't right with her, there were always a half dozen bees following her around and inspecting the cells wherever she stopped. Both failed the hive tool test and the colony got a frame of larvae from another hive to start over with.

[rober]

I'm giving up on her just yet. she might just be a slow starter. there are enough bees in the hive that she could lay wall to wall & the brood would be fine. if she's not up to the task the hive will likely supercede her anyway.

[Colobee]

there are a lot of bees in this hive. i'll check in a couple of weeks. this queen was the 1st to hatch & I believe to mate in the 3 splits i made from the swarm cells & she's producing the least amount of brood of the 3.

Well, in that case, she'd better measure up to the rest sooner than later! If she isn't caught up in a month or so, she may never. You are obviously doing a good job monitoring her progress.

[rober]

as I said 2 queens that hatched 1 to 1/2 weeks later are outlaying her 2 to 1.

[riverbee]

"made a split with a frame with swarm cells about 3 weeks ago. the hive now has a laying queen. how long does it take for queens to shift into gear? right now there's 1 frame about 2/3 full on 1 side & 1/2 full on the other side & a touch of brood on another frame. the queen was 3 frames away from the brood. there were quite a few drones around when she hatched.
2 other swarm cell queens in nucs have produced a lot more brood."

you may have answered your own question rober. this is why its good to have comparisons. the brood pattern. some queens are slower than others, and some not as well mated as others and some not sure what the problem is.  i'd give her another week and if the brood pattern doesn't improve i would combine it with another hive, or requeen if you can, don't let the bees dwindle down or get too old. it's early in the season. she should be going full guns as your other two.  i am not concerned about  finding a queen on the 2nd frame in when there are compact brood patterns in the center brood frames.....   as long as she's laying well, i don't care where she is, oh except not in my honey supers.....

btw, i enjoy using swarm cells every year in nucs, works well most of the time, sometimes it doesn't.  so plan b.  err plan beeee...........

[rober]

well I'm glad I gave this queen a chance. when I checked it yesterday this hive is wall to wall brood! the queen these swarm cells came from was a good layer. i'll try raising some more queens from them later this summer.

[Jen]

Cool Rober! When I first started learning about laying queens, I was a bit confused as to why some beeks off their queens so quickly. I started listening to the admins and mods more closely and found that they tend to be more patient with the queens. Last year one of my swarms had a lazy queen, she simply layed 'just enough'. This year she has kicked it into second gear quite nicely. Just took her a while to figure it out. Then she left with a swarm  :'(

[Barbarian]

I was hooked by the thread title.

With our zig-zag wired wax frames, it is common for the Q not to lay where the wires are. Makes an interesting pattern on a frame of sealed brood.