queen control

[Heather]

I have been told that a number of queen cells in a colony can be controlled not to emerge by the workers. This does seem to be evident as, if I harvest some that are sealed, they can all emerge within a few minutes of being apart from the colony.
I have asked experienced ,even Master beekeepers, if this is controlled by pheromone, vibration or continuing to work wax, but no-one seems to have a definite answer.
Anyone here have the answer??

 

[B+.]

Anyone here have the answer??

My guess is that they were from eggs that were laid very close together so were approximately the same age.
I would pose the opposite situation to you. Why would sealed cells emerge in an incubator over several hours, perhaps even the following day? There are no signals from bees outside the cell so they emerge on their own timetable. Indeed, everything seems to happen according to their age. This is well known already.
I think you will find that your observation is coincidence.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My guess is that they were from eggs that were laid very close together so were approximately the same age.

I've had them on different frames spread throughout the hive, each one sprung when I opened them

 

[Ian123]

I've had them on different frames spread throughout the hive, each one sprung when I opened them

I’ve seen it after prolonged periods of bad weather. I think the bees just literally sit on the cells keeping the virgins inside, we go in and disturb them and the virgins start popping out

 

[SDM]

I've harvested a dozen cells from a hive , put them in a bag and had 8 or 9 of them emerge within 10 mins.
I can't believe they were all laid within minutes of each other 3 frames apart.

 

[B+.]

We know that queens emit a noise soon before emergence so it is possible that the queens are communicating. Perhaps it is arrogant not to prescribe them with a language, but, workers would need to understand this and act in unison to meet a defined aim. That implies the ability to plan.

ADDED: Before anyone points out the obvious (bees communicate through dancing and pheromones), by planning, I mean making contingency plans incase the first choice fails.

 

[masterBK]

If the workers want to keep a virgin from emerging from her cell they do the DVAV dance on the cell and feed her through a slit in the capping.