Article on Egg Laying Workers

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RosieMc

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That article writer does not live this day. He gives old fashion advices what to do.
How he invents so much text on simple issue.

You give youn larva frame to the hive, and bees feelings return from desparate to normal queenless. When bees rear then queenells, workers stop laying.

No need to carry hive 100 years and shake bees.

It it true that when the colony has been long queenless it is more diffult to accept a new queen.

I have not met difficlties to give queen to worker layer hive.

I have done a shaking trick about 45 years ago. Needles job.
 
Finman I don’t know if the method has moved forward or not when dealing with a hive of laying workers I understand it the hive is in a pretty much hopeless situation and a couple of years ago tried for a friend to rescue a hive of laying workers, the chuck the bees on the floor and let them fend for themselves is not an option for most people.

What the paper does is simply explains the situation at a level that a new or even more experienced beekeeper can understand.

You are without doubt a very experienced beekeeper and have been quiet of late and will have in your armoury the best way to treat a hive of laying workers.
 
Just to be awkward and add another layer of interest I invite you all to read the following Wiki page:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelytoky

It describes laying workers successfully creating viable queens. It is very rare but can be done,

All the best,
Sam
 
Thanks Tom and Finman.
I have read elsewhere too that the best way is to add brood frames.
Which brings me to a question. How common are laying workers. Everywhere I read it says very rare. Who here has seen them?
PS our BKA were doing a split for a member last year and it took four successive weekly additions of frames of eggs before they made themselves a queen. I wonder if that could have been the problem?
 
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Who knows eric but I suspect not the hive has to remain on the whole hopelessly Q- for a good few weeks before laying workers can become a problem.

I say a good few weeks as some will go longer than others without a queen, the most obvious symptom to recognise is a random pattern of a few or many eggs attached to the sides of the cell walls and even around the rim of the cell.

This is not to be confused with a young queen that can often lay two eggs in the bottom of the cells as she gains experience.

I tried to help a friend a couple of years ago with this situation and it was hopeless situation the only recommendation I found at the time was the throw the bees on the floor approach, I don’t know if this works but in this situation I don’t think my friends neighbours would appreciate me dumping a hive of bees on their lawn.
 
Thanks Tom and Finman.
I have read elsewhere too that the best way is to add brood frames.
Which brings me to a question. How common are laying workers. Everywhere I read it says very rare. Who here has seen them?

1 in 10000 workers in a normal hive supposedly has functional ovaries, but presumably the Q pheromone suppresses it much? most? of the time. And if they did lay I expect the rest would tidy up the eggs...eat them probably. If not then a bit of random bullet brood could be a sign? Anyone got any papers on this?

A lot of the posts we see on possible LW forums are probably crowded new queens or just queens with L plates.

It would take a lot of missed clues or a hopelessly Q- and then uninspected hive for several weeks to get to such a stage. And as they look like normal workers seeing them isn't the issue. Certainly multiple eggs up the sides of cells would be bad news.
 
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It is an English University which revieled secrets of laying worker 10 or 15 years ago. I don't remember the name. It researches life of social insects.

Key word is "policing in honey bee hive".

Even 20% of workers may have swollen ovaries in "desperately queenless hive".


I have often worker layers in mating hives when I take the queen off. When I give a larva frame to bees, they stop laying drone eggs.

Yes i know something after 48 years. I must repeat that because it has not value among one hive owners.

Shake bees if you do not know what to do.

If your computer does not act as you like, shake the mouse.

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I found the university. It is Sheffield and "policing laying workers". The phenomenom was found first in swaps. Bumbbles have the system too.
 
Hi I posted a question about drone laying workers.

Many thanks to Tom Bick who sent me this link - its an excellent article and well worth reading if you have this problem

If you cannot connect with the link below - search key words
www.beehacker.com drone egg laying workers

Reply from Tom Bick "I came across this paper it covers the subject and worth a read "

http://www.beehacker.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Egg_laying_worker_bees.pdf



Hope it helps

I collected a swarm on the 9th july that had been in situ on a branch for a while, 2 x bits of comb, 1 about 6 x 5" and another a little smaller, both full of nectar.
I checked it today to find loads of eggs in loads of cells as in the the article picture, link above.
I'm not sure how long it would have taken a swarm to make those bits of comb but I'm sure it wouldn't have been 3+ weeks. So, as all the bees that are in the swarm must have flown there I dont see how this can be laying workers, so is this just a really confused queen???
 
It has to be said that laying workers are a comparatively rare problem although it could be that there has been more of a problem than usual this year because of the strange weather patterns causing queens to fail to make it back to the colony or to miss their mating 'window'.

I agree with Finman that a decent fertile queen will cure the laying worker problem, or merge the colony with another known to be Q+.
 
So, as all the bees that are in the swarm must have flown there I dont see how this can be laying workers, so is this just a really confused queen???

Are the eggs at the bottom of the cells? Workers dont have long enough abdomens to lay there normally, which is why they lay up the sides.

As far as Im aware a new queen might lay 2 or 3 eggs in the same cell, but will always be at the bottom of the cell.
 
Are the eggs at the bottom of the cells? Workers dont have long enough abdomens to lay there normally, which is why they lay up the sides.

As far as Im aware a new queen might lay 2 or 3 eggs in the same cell, but will always be at the bottom of the cell.

Hi MandF,
Yes they are all at the bottom of the cells, most of which (if not all, getting eaten by midges so concentration not that great) are worker, this is why I'm confused. Did you check out the picture in the link, loads of eggs.

Also not really sure that they would have time to produce laying workers?
 

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