Laying workers?

[Erichalfbee]

The colony was back, clustered on the stand wondering where the hive had gone before the shakeout party got back to the apiary!!

Yes they are quick aren’t they?
My stands are immobile so I spray them with air freshener which helps.
Eric’s tip about shaking them onto a board propped up in front of another hive seems to work too. You can split the bees between a few hives that way.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My stands are immobile so I spray them with air freshener which helps.

they don't hang around long anyway, shook one out off a two hive stand last month, by the time I'd packed up the truck and did the usual return to the apiary as my smoker was still sat on the last but one hive, most of the bees were begging in to the other hives.

 

[Newbeeneil]

How big is it?

Long time since I’ve be asked that!

 

[BeeBird]

How big is it?

It’s a double brood which is well populated

 

[jarmo henttu]

Try it.
Shake a laying colony out but leave the hive in place. Look again in a few days to see if you still have laying workers.

Give to the hive frame on young larvae.
Bees start ro rear queen cells and laying workers will be vanished.

That shaking magic is from old time when beekeekers did not know what laying worker really is.

Same magic continues even if it should be abandoned 20 years ago

 

[BeeBird]

Give to the hive frame on young larvae.
Bees start ro rear queen cells and laying workers will be vanished.

That shaking magic is from old time when beekeekers did not know what laying worker really is.

Same magic continues even if it should be abandoned 20 years ago

Thank you, it’s nice to get some constructive friendly advice from you and most of the other forum members who have contributed and shared their knowledge.

 

[Sutty]

Give to the hive frame on young larvae.
Bees start ro rear queen cells and laying workers will be vanished.

That shaking magic is from old time when beekeekers did not know what laying worker really is.

Same magic continues even if it should be abandoned 20 years ago

Everything I have heard/read & understand about LW hives is that due to pheromones from the LWs the colony "thinks" it is queenright and won't raise queen cells.

 

[BeeBird]

Everything I have heard/read & understand about LW hives is that due to pheromones from the LWs the colony "thinks" it is queenright and won't raise queen cells.

I have put in a 2nd test frame of eggs and young larvae, which I will check tomorrow.

 

[ericbeaumont]

it is queenright and won't raise queen cells

Give to the hive frame on young larvae.
Bees start ro rear queen cells and laying workers will be vanished.

Yes, and Michael Bush agrees: https://bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm

 

[Antipodes]

I have got a 2nd test frame of eggs and young larvae, which I will check tomorrow.

Hi BeeBird,
Did you put a second brood frame in (with eggs and larvae) ?

 

[BeeBird]

Hi BeeBird,
Did you put a second brood frame in (with eggs and larvae) ?

Hi, yes I did

 

[Antipodes]

Hi, yes I did

It will be interesting to see what they have got up to. You have enough colonies to do some experimentation.

 

[BeeBird]

Yes, and Michael Bush agrees: https://bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm

That make’s interesting reading and must be the easiest way to initially try to solve the problem. I have put a second test frame in.
Thank you for forwarding the link.

 

[jarmo henttu]

Everything I have heard/read & understand about LW hives is that due to pheromones from the LWs the colony "thinks" it is queenright and won't raise queen cells.

No it does not think that it has a gueen. That thinking is over 20 years old and it is based on fairytales.

When the colony is not able to rear a queen, it is " hopelesly queenless". Normal workers' egg tissues staet to swell. Such bees can be 25% out of whole gang. There is no worker queen which fights against genuine queen. That is that 100 years old fairytale.

 

[ericbeaumont]

it does not think that it has a gueen

If that is true, why will the colony not accept a queen?

 

[jarmo henttu]

If that is true, why will the colony not accept a queen?

Not more difficult than change the queen usually..

In my hives every hive has accepted the gueen.

In my hives July has been the best month to give a new queen. In August I may loose 90% out of my queens, because bees do not get nectar from nature
Next time is to hive queens when I feed the hive for winter.

To change the queen is always difficult. You must be cafefull.

When bees rear emercengy queens they do not foreign ofors of queen. But when tyey cap their queen cells, introduction is easy.

Use push in cage to protect the queen.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Not more difficult than change the queen usually..

I get that, but does that work for you with a laying worker colony?

 

[madasafish]

My experience of laying workers is they will NOT raise QCs.. tried three times..

 

[jarmo henttu]

I get that, but does that work for you with a laying worker colony?

Yes it does.
You must be carefull, when you introduce the queen. Hive uses to kill foreign workers and queens. Nothing magic in it.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Nor exactly that, but one year I took the LW hive away, put in its place a Q+ nuc, shook out the LWs somewhere, and a couple of days later upgraded the nuc to a hive. Result: happy ever after.

I’ve done this to and it worked