Pupae

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
May 29, 2010
Messages
6,213
Reaction score
2
Location
Norwich
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
3 National Hives & 1 Observation Hive.(Indoors) & lots of empty boxes..
Why would there be a pile of pupae in front of the hive that has been chucked out?
 
That was also my thought but never heard of it before..(therefore also an uneducated guess)
 
They do throw out drone pupae. I saw it most vividly a couple of years ago on 4 hives which were left on a trailer when they were taken to the heather. The floor of the trailer was littered with them.
 
I found some dead drone lavae on the landing board at the weekend and looked in "At the Hive Entrance" (Storch) to try to find out what the cause might be. He has the following observation:

The Drawing in of Winter: At very nearly the same time [as the drones are ejected] several colonies remove drone pupae that are white, brown and almost fully developed to the hive entrance.

The last brood of drones still in the colony is being removed from the cells. (This can also occur in July). Colonies which have a strong tendency for egglaying, generally remove the drone larvae a few days later than the others.

Most of the other possible causes he lists are disease or pest related (e.g. bald brood, wax moth lavae damage).
 
Might be unwanted drone pupae, might be unwanted worker pupae, might be pupae that have got a chill and died.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top