Well after the surprise of mystery marked queen now I can not find any or any evidence of one. It has been 5 days since the sighting of the mystery queen. Here are some photos. The population in down but well tempered. Do I wait or requeen??
Cant get the photos to post but please help!!
Jo Jo
Sounds like she may have died or just left. I had the same thing happen to me just recently. I started in the end of may with two packages. In three weeks, one hive was starting to look awfully confused. The frames had very little comb drawn out and no brood. I hunted for a queen to replace her with and the local supplier (expert) advised me to combine the two hives. They came together quite nicely and are growing every week. I am new to this endeavor and already hooked. My neighbor got me started as they are up in years and can't handle it physically. They enjoy coming over to check everything out. They have been coaching me. I hope you can purchase another queen soon if the hive is large enough to store enough honey to winter over. Make a few calls to the nearest supplier. Get her soon.
Hope it turns out OK for you, Rockfordbeeman
I haven't read all of part 1, but if there is no evidence of her (eggs or young larvae) I would requeen soonest. I think it says a lot that they are mellow if they're queenless. But I would definitely requeen.