Preventing casts

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gmonag

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Interesting new article over at "The Apiarist".

https://www.theapiarist.org/if-it-quacks-like-a-duck/

David suggests that emerging (releasing) multiple virgins at the same time causes casts:

"So, perhaps hive inspections that (inadvertently) result in the release of multiple virgin queens are the colonies that subsequently slice’n’dice themselves to oblivion by producing lots of casts."

However Wally Shaw promotes multiple releases (pulling queens) as fool-proof way of preventing casts.

Anyone?
 
In conversation with our bee inspector last spring, he said that he had frequently observed multiple virgin emerging from cells at the same time during inspections. His theory was that the bees held back other new queen's from emerging by covering the cell with their bodies, thus preventing sounds from being transferred. By inspecting, we disrupt that and so the bees can no longer hold them back and we observe numbers of virgin queens emerging simultaneously in the hive.

I do tend to leave multiple queen's cells, believing that casting is unlikely to happen and to allow the bees to decide which queen cell will produce the best queen. I also reduce the number of flying bees to make casting less likely. I should say I understand the risks of getting it wrong!

Back to your why question. I could see the hive verifying the quality of the first queen, before they dispatch the remainder. I don't see them wanting to create lots of casts, rather a survival of the best queen of the bunch which the hive has helped to be more prepared for the fight. More Game of Thrones than free and fair democratic election.....

Other opinions?
 
In conversation with our bee inspector last spring, he said that he had frequently observed multiple virgin emerging from cells at the same time during inspections. His theory was that the bees held back other new queen's from emerging by covering the cell with their bodies, thus preventing sounds from being transferred. By inspecting, we disrupt that and so the bees can no longer hold them back and we observe numbers of virgin queens emerging simultaneously in the hive.

I do tend to leave multiple queen's cells, believing that casting is unlikely to happen and to allow the bees to decide which queen cell will produce the best queen. I also reduce the number of flying bees to make casting less likely. I should say I understand the risks of getting it wrong!

Back to your why question. I could see the hive verifying the quality of the first queen, before they dispatch the remainder. I don't see them wanting to create lots of casts, rather a survival of the best queen of the bunch which the hive has helped to be more prepared for the fight. More Game of Thrones than free and fair democratic election.....

Other opinions?

I know - from personal experience many times- that workers sit on QCs preventing the Q from emerging. Seen it when I took frames out with QCs on. The workers then run away and hey presto.

I cull all QCs bar one.. So far been lucky .. few duds.

I tend to requeen swarmy bees - defined as swarming on a 1 year old Queen and no beekeeping reason to (space,stores,temperature,disease).
 
Hooper claims pulling all the virgins and destroying any that aren't ripe stops casts as they won't throw a cast swarm without having a sealed cell. I've always been slightly dubious but have followed the advice and it seems to hold good.
 
Hooper claims pulling all the virgins and destroying any that aren't ripe stops casts as they won't throw a cast swarm without having a sealed cell. I've always been slightly dubious but have followed the advice and it seems to hold good.

To quote Jenkins that would involve a lot of "staring" and I don't think you do it.
 
I could be wrong, I seem to recall that Dani did this experiment and it did not work out?
 
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Swarm control is too late if you are going to listen queens' piiping and quaking.

You should Inspect the queen cells in time.
 
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Hooper claims pulling all the virgins and destroying any that aren't ripe stops casts as they won't throw a cast swarm without having a sealed cell. I've always been slightly dubious but have followed the advice and it seems to hold good.


But often you do not find all queen cells.
 
Interesting new article over at "The Apiarist".

https://www.theapiarist.org/if-it-quacks-like-a-duck/

David suggests that emerging (releasing) multiple virgins at the same time causes casts:



Anyone?

No... it is bees' procedure to make a cast.

The primary swarm leaves when first queen cells are capped.

Then after a week swarming cells are ready to emerge.
The first virgin comes out. It runs over the combs and piips.

Other virgins stay in the cells and piip back. When the cast leaves, the rest virgins emerge out and start to kill each others.

If you open the hive, when the cast just left, you may find 10 virgins running and piping on combs. And more virgins are emerging.
 
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Gran pa had a hive hiia hiia hoo.
He nursed his hives, hiia hiia hoo.
Piip pii here, piip pii there
Piip here, piip there , everywhere piip piip, hiia hiia hoo
 
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Swarm control is too late if you are going to listen queens' piiping and quaking.

.
Gran pa had a hive hiia hiia hoo.
He nursed his hives, hiia hiia hoo.
Piip pii here, piip pii there
Piip here, piip there , everywhere piip piip, hiia hiia hoo

:icon_204-2::icon_204-2::icon_204-2:
 
Ok, I am sure someone else must have tried it too!
 
My experience is that it does not work. In May I lost a cast after pulling 3 queens and destroyed every other QC (I'm pretty sure I did!). Another association memeber had the same outcome after I advised him to do the same.

So are Hooper and Wally Shaw wrong?
 
I am done with multiple VQs/QCs etc in any form.

If the one I "choose" is a dud or gets eaten by a swallow, I merge and start again. Considering the process, I am amazed it doesn't happen that often.

What does happen is cast swarms, as discussed, and damaged winner of the Game of Thrones. In May I had to squish a Q that was HUGE by VQ standards when there was no brood after a VERY respectable interval (plenty to do without looking for trouble) inspecting a hive that had shed a cast and the VQ's wings were hopelessly damaged. That was it: introduce myself as the random element, not Q fights...
 

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