Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ocba - Re: [ocba] Laying worker and a Queen

ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: pandptax1 AT aol.com, ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Laying worker and a Queen
  • Date: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 09:58:24 -0400

Todd,

FYI, the problem with laying workers isn't a "laying worker" problem; it is a problem with all the other worker bees. In a queen-right colony, the queen and worker-brood pheromones trigger the housekeeping bees to eat/destroy eggs laid by rogue workers. So if you have a laying queen, you won't have a "laying worker" problem because the worker bees won't allow it (assuming the all of the other bees aren't insane).

Is ALL of the capped brood drone brood, or is there a mix of drone and worker brood? You could have one of two things going on:
1) a brand new queen who isn't good at laying yet, but will come around
2) a queen who was very poorly mated or mated too late

If #1, she should straighten herself out in a week or so -- give her a little time.
If #2, the queen is a loss and should be replaced.

I would hope for #1, give her a little time and see how the open brood will be capped (drone or worker). If there is no improvement, talk to the person you got the queen from about getting a replacement -- she's a dud.

Randall


On 8/7/2015 8:56 AM, Todd Prince via ocba wrote:
14f083bc8b7-3a70-3ea0c AT webprd-a92.mail.aol.com" type="cite">
Is it possiable to have a laying worker and a queen in the same hive.   I introduced a queen to a hive that had been queenless based on my inspection aprox 3 weeks and I now have some brood (not much) and lots of popcorn drone capped cells.  I know the queen is there as she is marked.  
 
Todd P.


_________________________________________
ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page