Two large queens in hive

[idg]

On 12/07 I noted for one of my hives that it looked like supercedure. There was a QC in the centre of a frame. I left alone.
Today there are two large queens in the hive. They were on the same frame.
Should I leave alone now?

 

[itma]

Yes.
The supercedure transition sometimes takes months.
Cherish the supercedure genes!

 

[galileo]

Yes, let them sort themselves out. Chances are that they'll both remain until the new Queen gets mated and laying well, at which happy time the bees will very likely make a choice and stop feeding the Queen they no longer require.

 

[oliver90owner]

Just think here. What would happen in nature (without human interference)? Answer: The bees would sort it out themselves.

Yes, they have been doing the same thing for millions of years. Consider humans may have been on the planet only around 70 000yrs. No contest. The bees know what they are doing. Leave them alone.

 

[kazmcc]

Didn't know it could take months to supercede, thanks for that information. I'm sure I've read not to allow two queens to fight it out in case the winner becomes injured, although, like o90o said, they get on fine with it in the wild.

 

[enrico]

Didn't know it could take months to supercede, thanks for that information. I'm sure I've read not to allow two queens to fight it out in case the winner becomes injured, although, like o90o said, they get on fine with it in the wild.

Those would be two virgins fighting not an old queen and a supercedure. One is the strongest wins, the other is sort of done on agreement!!!
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

Kaz, I have seen 2 queens, mother and daughter, in the same hive at first inspection with the older gone on second.

 

[kazmcc]

Ok, thanks. I've got it now I think I remember you posting about it EricA. It was the first time I'd heard about it.

 

[dclewis]

I had the same last year and the 2 Q's both came through to spring and started the year really well, in fact they took off so fast they were out the the blocks and ready to swarm even before the OSR was hardly in flower. So watch out next year for a rapid expansion in the brood box and have your strategy ready to deal with 2 Q's and Qcells should it occur to you too.

 

[Apple]

Nothing surprising, I have a number of colonies with 2 queens, in fact I have one on a double brood box system with at least 2 queens, possibly 3 all living happily together.
Must be an Apis mellifera mellifera anomaly, as my sister never sees this in her Ferrari bees, up country, in the north of the county.

James