I lost the queen in one of my hives, and it is winter here so I can't split or something like that to recover. The queen has been gone from the hive for long enough that all the brood has already hatched. There are 1-2 lbs of bees remaining in the hive, and there are around 8 deep frames of honey remaining for them to use for feed. I bought a new queen through the mail and introduced her to the hive today.
Assuming that they accept her, should I expect the remaining bees will start rearing the brood that the queen produces? Or, is it possible that the remaining bees are old enough that they won't act as nurse bees? I have another hive that is doing well, and I could shake some bees off of a brood frame into the troubled hive if need be...
Opinions?
Thanks,
Curt