Walk away time ?

[Cee]

How long after you are walking away before they figure out they're queenless and start the Q cells?

[Michael Bush]

About two hours.  But it isn't obvious for about two days.

http://www.bushfarms.com/huber.htm#letter4

[Cee]

Thanks - as a followup question (more hypothetical than anything), if one put a queen and  nurse bees in a nuc with old brood that has not  been prepared to receive eggs by the nurse bees, how long until the quuen would be able to start laying?

[Michael Bush]

>if one put a queen and  nurse bees in a nuc with old brood that has not  been prepared to receive eggs by the nurse bees, how long until the quuen would be able to start laying?

If she was laying when you put here in, probably a couple of hours...