Queen bee size changes

[Antipodes]

Hi Antipodes, The camera does lie, but on the face of it would you buy a queen with that look? I think what you have got there is an intercaste queen where all the queen gene expressions that a queen should have, have not kicked in due to insufficient nutrition & warmth i.e. not enough nurse bees in the cell raiser colony, larvae come away from the royal jelly plug, a too old larva has been used if reared from emergency cell, disease and probably a million other reasons which we don't know about. She is a reject.

Yes, no good at all I'm afraid, except for ongoing observations.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I would leave them well alone. Definitely don't check every day. I think, leave them now for a couple of weeks at least. Firstly, because you don't want to be in the way when she planned a mating flight, or returns from one. And secondly, once mated, I would worry that daily checking will interfere with her starting to lay.

By the way, I've had a colony recently where the queen took about two months before laying, and she's now laying nice slabs of brood. They might have fooled me and used an egg from a test frame somewhere else, well-hidden - but I doubt it.

I've had a queen go into her 7th week before laying , that's the longest I've known it to take.. Patient times are called for.
When I made the nuc with a 14 day old queen cell they were left for three weeks before I inspected again, I agree they need to be left alone, observe the entrance and if your lucky you might see hm leaving for her nuptial flight.

I've observed this season for the first time queen's leaving, one queen went out 4 times in one week to mate..

 

[Madge]

... I think what you have got there is an intercaste queen ... She is a reject.

I’ve never seen an intercast queen, and wonder if workers would allow one to develop. I know they’ve been bred artificially - but in a hive? Perhaps ... I don’t know.

I have, however, seen very small queens laying slabs and slabs of brood, and with no attempt at early supersedure.

 

[beeno]

When I made the nuc with a 10 day old queen cell they were left for three weeks before I inspected again, I agree they need to be left alone, observe the entrance and if your lucky you might see hm leaving for her nuptial flight.

I've observed this season for the first time queen's leaving, one queen went out 4 times in one week to mate..

I am sure you meant to say 14 day old queen cell? One of mine went out 4 x in a day and some the following day.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I am sure you meant to say 14 day old queen cell? One of mine went out 4 x in a day and some the following day.

Yes, 14 day old qc.
Two days before she emerged.
I've tried it at different days this season.
Capped qcs can damage really easily... I've come to the conclusion that either before they are capped or just before they emerge works best for me.

 

[Finman]

I can't tell whether your queen is mated or not!

Tee queen in the picture is not mates. If it is, it will swell to morrow. No bees to make bigger problem from that. If she has a string in her abdomen, she has retourned from mating flight.

What you can do, if the is or is not. You just wait, what hapens next.

 

[beeno]

I’ve never seen an intercast queen, and wonder if workers would allow one to develop. I know they’ve been bred artificially - but in a hive? Perhaps ... I don’t know.

I have, however, seen very small queens laying slabs and slabs of brood, and with no attempt at early supersedure.

I have had one, but I did only realise with hindsight, but she did look weird. Two swarms uniting into one. Found the "queen" caged her and put her into a nuc box thinking the swarm would go in. They refused and I started to look for another queen found her caged her and exchanged them. Swarm went in. I think you might be thinking of diploid drones. Correction: I don't believe they have managed to breed these artificially.

 

[Finman]

I am sure you meant to say 14 day old queen cell? One of mine went out 4 x in a day and some the following day.

Started counting from what point? Perhaps you do not visit on your hives so often that you know the age of queen cells.

When I use to craft on Sunday afternoon, queens start to emerge on Thursday evening, 12 days later. It means that I have crafted 24 hour old larvae, and not older

 

[Finman]

You may find from Internet that the live weight of different queens varies between 0.18 - 0.22 g

How the weight of one queen varies during life time, you just do not need such knowledge.

To weigh a worker or a queen is not easy. They have honey more or less in their belly. Then they have more or less poo in abdomen.

Workers feed emerging worker via a small hole.

Yes, I bought a drug balance, and I intended to weigh bees and queens, but it was too imposible Job.

 

[Madge]

I have had one, but I did only realise ...
I think you might be thinking of diploid drones.

It sounds as though you might have had an intercaste queen.
And no, I definitely did not think of diploid drones!

 

[Finman]

Oh my goodness...

You look from abdomens segmentation, is the queen laying?
I look, if there are eggs in cells.

And dibloid drones.? They die in nature in larva stage,if they are.

Do bees have castes? Never heard.

Ordinary question in this chain was clear,but then it went to outer space.

 

[Finman]

It seems to me that a newly emerged and unmated queen is not too much bigger than a worker

A weigh of a new queen is about 0.17 g

A worker is 0.10 - 0.12 g
A worker full of honey is 0.17 g. Like a swarm bee.

A worker can carry 40% nectar load over its own weigh.

 

[Madge]

...
I look, if there are eggs in cells.

So do we.

And dibloid drones.? They die in nature in larva stage,if they are.

Yes, we know, Finman! That’s what we said.

Do bees have castes? Never heard.

Not castes - intercaste. As I said, I’ve never seen one - but Beeno’s example might have been one. Who knows ...?

 

[Finman]

intercaste. As I said, I’ve never seen one - but Beeno’s example might have been one. Who knows ...?

I looked what is an intercaste. It is a queen which has reared from 4 days old larva. It is Something between a queen and a worker.

Yes, I have seen very small and odd queens. I do not wonder them. I do not think about their theory. I squeeze them and they will just fly to willow bush.

If the queen does not seem normal, I squeeze such. Too small is enough to me, or mongrel colour.

If the queen cell does not have extra queen jelly, when the queen emerges, I kill the queen.

I have seen few worker-drone mixtures, but they are not worth to wonder.

 

[Madge]

I looked what is an intercaste. It is a queen which has reared from 4 days old larva. It is Something between a queen and a worker. ...

Yes.

 

[Finman]

What a sweet thought of queens mating under the moon and stars.............or am I wrong in thinking that she's tucked up in bed at that time of night....

Right thinking but I have not seen any bed in the beehive. It must be a queen in the Motel.

 

[Antipodes]

Tee queen in the picture is not mates. If it is, it will swell to morrow. No bees to make bigger problem from that. If she has a string in her abdomen, she has retourned from mating flight.

What you can do, if the is or is not. You just wait, what hapens next.

Ok. That's potentially a problem then because there are eggs through the hive. If she is not laying them then the old queen is still in there. I'll go through them again to see if I can find her. They'll probably swarm today. 20 degrees forecast. You are looking at the queen in post number 9?

 

[beeno]

Started counting from what point? Perhaps you do not visit on your hives so often that you know the age of queen cells.

When I use to craft on Sunday afternoon, queens start to emerge on Thursday evening, 12 days later. It means that I have crafted 24 hour old larvae, and not older

Curley and I know exactly what we were talking about.

 

[beeno]

Ok. That's potentially a problem then because there are eggs through the hive. If she is not laying them then the old queen is still in there. I'll go through them again to see if I can find her. They'll probably swarm today. 20 degrees forecast. You are looking at the queen in post number 9?

I doubt, leave them alone until next weekly inspection as it makes more sense that she is the only queen in there judging by the fact that the queen cell has been destroyed by a queen. The thread has moved on to your other queens now.

 

[Finman]

Ok. That's potentially a problem then because there are eggs through the hive. If she is not laying them then the old queen is still in there. I'll go through them again to see if I can find her. They'll probably swarm today. 20 degrees forecast. You are looking at the queen in post number 9?

I did not mean post 9. Nro 9 looks like mated.