Emergency Queen & Patchy Laying - will it improve?

[davidharradine]

Hello everyone

I posted the other day about an emergency queen that was only laying drone. I had another look yesterday and now there is some capped worker brood as well, but not much, and it's very patchy.

In another hive with a new queen the brood is perfect and profuse (she's not an emergency queen).

In your experience, might the patchy-laying queen improve with time, or do you think this will be as good as it gets?

Thanks
David

 

[Midland Beek]

Do not expect the laying to improve. Time for the beek to intervene. Either kill and unite or buy a new queen. Leave them to it and they might supersede, assuming the workers know the difference between a drone larva and a worker larva.

 

[Mike a]

Just to be awkward I would say - I'm sure they know best, let them decide if and when to replace her.

 

[Poly Hive]

There are times they definitely do not know best and this is a prime example.

It's crunchie time for her, and time for you to decide whether to buy or raise some cells to replace her with.

PH

 

[Midland Beek]

In order to supersede a 'defective' queen she first of all has to lay a fertilized egg in a queen cell cup. Perhaps not that likely considering 1/ She is laying a mix of fertilized and unfertilized eggs, and 2/ There may not be that many queen cell cups on the comb of this particular colony.

 

[tonybloke]

I reckon bees know the difference between fertilised and non fertilised eggs. I also believe that bees will soon make a q/c if they want to, and put an egg in it.

 

[Midland Beek]

I reckon bees know the difference between fertilised and non fertilised eggs.

With a drone laying queen the workers will often try to raise new queens from unfertilized eggs.