Abnormal cell?

[Clarpa]

Hi, I am an absolute novice having bought a nuc about a month ago. I opened the hive a while ago and found the bees had made a cell starting at the top of a frame and descending all the way to the bottom like a stalactite! Surely it is too large to be a queen cell but what is it? Any advice much appreciated

 

[Millet]

Sling a picture up, it might be a super Queen..

 

[Tom Bick]

Sometimes larvae in queen cells become detached from the royal jelly and slip down the cell. The bees can elongate the cell to accommodate the soon to be dead larvae. This cell can get rather long but don't know about a full depth of a frame?

 

[Clarpa]

Thanks I will next time I open the hive

 

[Hivemaker.]

Surely it is too large to be a queen cell but what is it?

A King cell.

 

[B+.]

A King cell.

What carp!
Remember this is the beginners section HM....they may not understand your sense of humour.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Maybe it's just burr comb. The bees can get quite creative if the wax isn't drawn fully on the adjacent frame

 

[B+.]

the bees had made a cell starting at the top of a frame and descending all the way to the bottom like a stalactite! Surely it is too large to be a queen cell but what is it? Any advice much appreciated

Yes. It is too large to be a queen cell.
I assume you are using Langstroth frames (it would be handy if this was on your profile) so that would make this over 9" long. I doubt very much that its a single cell. Would it be possible for you to load a photograph? It would be easier to comment if we could see what you are talking about.

 

[Hivemaker.]

What carp!
Remember this is the beginners section HM....they may not understand your sense of humour.

Crap or not, seems to be a widely known term for an infertile cell, they are normally very long.

What is my sense of humour you refer to?

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=250062&postcount=5

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32356&highlight=king+cell
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18860&highlight=king+cell

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=195841&postcount=34

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=151700&postcount=9

 

[Quis Custodiet]

Have often heard the term "King cell" applied to abnormally long queen cells and have used it myself. Agree that a newcomer would be unlikely to know what it meant, but using the name is the best way to teach him/her.

 

[B+.]

Crap or not, seems to be a widely known term for an infertile cell, they are normally very long.

What is my sense of humour you refer to?

You have a long memory HM. Some of those links go back a long way.

I don't think I have ever heard that term before.

 

[yeogi75]

or ask the bricks

 

[mbc]

You have a long memory HM. Some of those links go back a long way.

I don't think I have ever heard that term before.

search "king cells" brings them up.
Is that a retraction and apology?

 

[B+.]

Is that a retraction and apology?

It's an admission that I've never heard the term before. If an apology is necessary then I certainly offer it. I don't mind admitting that I've learned something new here.

 

[yeogi75]

any scientific papers to confirm this as I can only find it on this site

 

[Quis Custodiet]

I recall encountering the term 7/8 years ago and knowing what it meant, whether that was from the context or whether I already knew I cannot recall.
I do regret there do not seem to be any scientific papers to hand, which would enable this to be confirmed!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Nothing to do with infertile eggs in "king cells" but throughout history until the 1500's they thought the colony was headed by a king bee, not a queen.

During the Middle Ages people were aware that there was a single large bee that was different to all the other bees in the colony. Traditionally, the hierarchy of a bee hive was thought to reflect the structure of Church and State and thus the bee that clearly ruled the colony was believed to be a king bee. It was not until 1586 that it was discovered that the king bee was actually a queen.

castes including workers and non-working drones, but "kings" rather than queens;

 

[B+.]

Nothing to do with infertile eggs in "king cells" but throughout history until the 1500's they thought the colony was headed by a king bee, not a queen.

Indeed.
If you look closely at my avatar, you will see a single cell on the top bar that has been drawn down in much the same way as the OP describes (an extension of what should have been a queen cell). I left it there believing that I had somehow managed to flip the larva over during grafting (mea culpa) but this was just a single cell among many. Is this what you mean?

 

[midnight sun]

if anyone is interested, you can look up my profile and look in the photo section to see a picture of one I refered to some time back and HM gave a shortcut to in one of his replies.

 

[Cazza]

Maybe it's just burr comb. The bees can get quite creative if the wax isn't drawn fully on the adjacent frame

My money is on it being burr comb too.
Cazza