Go figure...

[boywonder]

Please... As I have no idea how to read this.

A couple of my colonies, with perfectly good 2020 Queens, laying extremely well (pattern, vigour) etc... are throwing up properly formed Queen cells ... One or two...

So, possible supersedure intentions, but none of said cells have brood food/royal jelly... Basically, they look completely dry.

I opened one up to have a closer look, and found multiple eggs. I'm a bit weirded out. Advice, as ever, welcome. Thanks

 

[gregior]

Hmm that is weird i've never seen it.Possible rogue laying worker laying in a play cup?

 

[Boston Bees]

Are these in the brood box? Below the queen excluder?

 

[enrico]

That's weird, what is the brown stuff?

 

[Swarm]

Looks like the base of the cell to me

 

[boywonder]

Yep, thanks... An otherwise completely regular colony, brood nest etc... This is indeed in the brood box, beneath the QX.

The pic is zoomed to the edge of the frame, but the rest of the frame comprises a nice slab of sealed worker brood.

What that is, is a 2/3 constructed Queen Cell, whose walls I have ripped apart, and we are looking at a good few eggs sitting on the base of a Queen Cell (presumably the 'brown stuff' being questioned).

There was another completely dry QC - ostensibly at about Day 8, going off the size and shape of the cell, and the fact it was almost completely capped. I should really have pulled that one down, to see what, if anything, was inside.

I have a good, prolific, established Queen, and, whilst I can believe that it is not beyond the realms of possibility that a worker or two can go Tonto and lay unfertilised eggs, even in a hive with a laying Queen, I just cannot fathom why actual proper 'peanut' Queen Cells (i.e. not just play cups) are being built around these... Seemingly at speed...

No hatched eggs; no brood food - just cells; this one having the multiple eggs within.

I guess they'll all get torn down by the bees pretty sharpish (given that they're of no use), but I'm trying to read this to understand what the cause is and what it signals as to their intent. Hmmmm

.

 

[Michael Palmer]

When I see multiple eggs in queen cells like that, I think Laying Workers