Will queens go idle . . .

[Kris^]

. . . in the middle of summer?

When doing a quick inspection of my hives, I noticed that the stronger hives have few if any eggs in the cells.  Plenty of bees and some older brood.  I didn't see the queens, but they don't act or sound queenless, and there are no queen cells.  The only eggs I've found have been in the hives I made from splits last month, and they are still growing.  I don't know if we are in a dearth or not, because the supers are still filling with honey (slowly) and the bees are still bringing in some pollen.  It just seems there are lots of clean brood cells that aren't being used right now.

-- Kris

[TwT]

yes they will slow down in a dearth, the hive should have a good population but when there isn't a flow coming in they will slow way down,  the queen will start  laying strong again soon and they will build back up for the fall flow..  I wouldn't worry unless I couldn't find the queen or any eggs and larva at all....

[Brian D. Bray]

During periods of dearth or drought bees will often take on the behavior that would expected in late fall.  The reason lies in the deminished honey flow, the dearth period immitates the fall wind down of the nectar and the bees react the same way.  It is their way of conserving their stores for when they are needed.  As long as they are still bringing in something everything should sort itself out with a change of weather.
If the dearth continues, however, you maybe feeding this fall to enable them to winter over or leaving on what honey the have for the purpose.