This year my wife decided she wanted to join my hobby and purchased a couple of packages that were installed the end of April. A few weeks ago she put a second brood box on. About 10 days ago I was helping her do an inspection and noticed a handful of queen cups. This past weekend she noticed only honey being stored in the upper chamber.
When I spotted the cups it was hard to locate any eggs but I did see plenty of larvae at about 4-5 days old.
Could the queen be gone?
Cups with no larvae mean nothing at all.
What Michael said.
Bees build queen cups all the time and they sit empty.
Jim
The question still remains....why hasn't she moved up to the second brood box. I'm afraid they are going to fill it with honey instead.
You'll have to ask the bees that question.
Honestly they will do what they feel is right for the hive. If the hive is well populated, you could move a frame of brood up into the second box.
But remember, the bees have been doing this a lot longer than we have.