Hive queenless for 7 days--what should I see?

[twb]

I took the queen and 2 frames from a 10 frame deep for the obs hive.  Today, seven days later, I opened the hive and saw only 3 queen cell cups.  Two cups appeared empty, the other always had a bee in it (head first) so it was hard to see much.  I might have gotten a glimpse of some royal jelly in there but I am not sure.  I was surprised not to see more and more advanced queen cells.  I saw no eggs.  How long should I wait to be concerned?

[doak]

7 days, I would think it should be almost capped by now.
The bee may have been feeding a larvae, or cleaning it out.
If you have it to spare, put a frame of eggs and brood from another colony, a strong one.
and check back in about 5 days.

Any time I have to go into a hive unless it is an emergency I try not to disturb it again for at that long.
Wish I could tell you more. :)doak

[Understudy]

Seven days you should see no larva or eggs. You should see capped cells. You may see empty queen cells. You may also see queen cells that are full.

Check again in a week if you don't see progress, do as doak said and add a fresh brood frame of eggs and young larva.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[twb]

I would not mind combining it at this point with a lesser hive in the same yard.  Would that work?  Would the bees from the queenless hive all come back to their original spot?

[doak]

If it isn't real close most will stay at the new location.
Just make sure there is no Queen in it before combining.
If you do have a colony that can spare a frame of eggs and brood, nothing would hurt to put it in tomorrow,
that is if you want another colony.doak

[misfyredOhio]

I (2nd year beginner) just got done inspecting one (this one with Italians) of my two hives. Last week I saw queen cells and no eggs. I knew then that I had lost the queen (installed on April 20). Disappointing! Today I still see 5 or 6 queen cells and no eggs yet. I assume a battle among queens will occur soon? It seems from the responses here that I shouldn't be too worried yet. BTW, the hive of Russians (installed on the same day) has lots of larvae.

Being a beekeeper is frustrating work!

[Ross]

It takes 28 days from egg to laying queen, minimum.  Since they will start with a day 4 newly hatched larva, about 24-25 days from the loss of a queen.