BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM.

Virgin or Laying Worker

(1/5) > >>

Bush_84:
So I?ll start by saying that I think it?s a newly mated queen. I caught a swarm in a trap. They were installed into two 5 frame deep nucs. They?d hadn?t been in the box very long. So not much comb built up. Pretty sure recalling seeing eggs, although I installed a lot of swarms at the time so things are a little fuzzy. Went back in yesterday to find and mark the queen. I also wanted to give them a frame of drawn comb. So first I found the queen. She looked like a virgin. Pretty small. I marked her and put her back in. I pulled out a frame that had just a nubbin of comb on it to put in the fully drawn frame. I noticed that the cells all had mutltiple eggs per cell. I?ve been thinking about it and decided to just see what happens. It?s not a huge swarm so I?m thinking it?s an after swarm and that she is newly mated. I know newly mated queens can be a little crazy right away and will settle down. They had also filled all of their comb with nectar. So her current space is somewhat limited. I?ve seen hives do that with virgins as well. They know they have a little time until she is up and running and use up the space.

I guess my question is what do laying workers look like?  I?ve had a few laying worked hives over the years but never did lay my eyes on what a laying worker bee looks like. I?m working on the assumption she looks like any other worker and what I saw was in fact a newly mated queen.

benjamindonaldson:
Sounds like you may have a newly mated queen and she is finding her feet. You might as well see what happens after a week or two to see if she settles down, nothing to lose at this point because if you have a laying worker on a small colony is it worth giving it much time?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bush_84:

--- Quote from: benjamindonaldson on July 17, 2018, 03:50:38 pm ---Sounds like you may have a newly mated queen and she is finding her feet. You might as well see what happens after a week or two to see if she settles down, nothing to lose at this point because if you have a laying worker on a small colony is it worth giving it much time?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

--- End quote ---

If it turned out to be a laying worker I?d combine it with one of my production colonies.

AR Beekeeper:
A laying worker looks like any other worker bee.  The only way to tell a laying worker is to see her with her abdomen in the cell when she lays.

iddee:
What does multiple mean?

2 or 3 in the bottom of a cell = queen

6 to 10 in a cell, on bottom and sides = laying worker

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page