Here we go again.
The story is much like the small surprise swarm that showed up last year. They moved into a super. There were a few hundred of them - a small struggling hive with no queen, but someone was laying eggs.
With Hive #1 I reported that there were three frames with a small cluster of bees. I spotted eggs in many cells. Some cells had more than one egg. That's a no-no.
[Photo - Janice assisting with the inspection]
You know what that can mean: A Laying Worker. There was clearly no queen in sight.
[Photo - see the queen at the top of the frame]
She’s tiny and not much bigger than the workers. Was she there all along and I didn't see her? She has the shiny black hairless back and brown legs that are customary with queens.
So now the question is, is she really a queen or is she a laying worker that is morphing into a queen? Can they do that or have I watched too many science fiction movies lately?
I have read that new inexperienced queens can lay more than one egg in a cell. It’s just that the workers fix things by moving the eggs.
If she’s a new queen is she mated? Are there even drones available (with mature sperm) so early in spring?
Only time will answer them.
2 comments:
When queens are not fertile they can only lay drones, I don't think drones are out yet, they take 42 days? and we have only had nice weather for a couple of weeks (in my part of ontario), are any of the cells caped yet?
Hi Sam. I don't think drones are out yet either and if they hatched today they'd still need some time for their sperm to mature.
When scraping frames last weekend I did see capped drone comb between the frames so at least the queens are laying (this is on one of my other hives).
On the questionable hive I hope to check this weekend to see if the cappings are bullets or flat.
I'm in London Ontario.
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