Will a DLQ get mated?

[Summerslease]

The cast I hived two weeks ago has a drone laying queen. Now that she's laying will she try and get mated if the weather improves or am I better off removing her and trying to get queen cells developed from a frame of eggs?

 

[Erichalfbee]

No she's had it.
Sorry.

 

[VEG]

As above

 

[YorkshireBees]

A queen becomes a drone layer when she fails to get mated in the window of oppurtunity (so to speak). Unfortunately when she starts to lay, without a successful mating, then she will only ever lay unfertilised (drone) eggs.
You will need to remove her and provide a frame of eggs from a fertilised queen, mark the frame, and ensure that they only use eggs on this frame to make queencells!

Good luck.

*Added*
The other option, considering the current weather is to remove the DLQ, combine with another hive and split again later when the weather has improved.

 

[drstitson]

unless she has literally just started laying? can't they take a few days to get the hang of fertilising the eggs????

Surely if it was a cast just two weeks ago she should still be waiting to get mated? laying anything might indicate that she has mated??????? she's not been hived on old drone comb by accident?

 

[Summerslease]

The cast was hived into a 14x12 with new worker foundation. I was hoping for the best but it seems a marked frame of eggs is the way forward. Thanks everyone.

 

[TOBY-3652]

last year i had one that started to lay a lot of drones but by 2 or 3 weeks it was all worker. still going well so i i would probably wait a few weeks to be sure

 

[oliver90owner]

it seems a marked frame of eggs is the way forward.

Doubtful that it is the best way forward, IMO.

 

[Midland Beek]

The cast I hived two weeks ago has a drone laying queen. ?

A cast or a second swarm contains an unmated queen. If that queen does not mate she will start to lay eggs, but about 4 weeks after she emerged, and not in 2 weeks like you have stated.

And how do you know you got a DLQ? Someone with an experienced eye will be able to tell by looking at older larvae, but most wait until you get the first cappings appear. Normal brood - flatish cappings. DLQ brood - dome shaped cappings.

Get eggs appear two weeks after hiving a swarm and it kind of says that you have actually got a normal functioning queen that either came already mated (prime swarm) or came in a cast and has mated during the two weeks that she has been in the hive. They are not very clever bees if they formed a swarm containing an old drone laying queen that had exhausted her supply of sperm, but not impossible, I suppose.

 

[Summerslease]

I found this situation during an inspection with the regional be inspector. drstiton and toby3652 give me some hope in waiting. midlandbeek gives something more to consider.
When the original hive tried to swarm on 28th March I moved the old queen into a nuc. The original hive then cast on 11th April. I caught the cast and moved it into a 14x12. It is this queen which is now laying drone brood. Fortunately I can provide eggs to replace her if necessary.
Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[drstitson]

ok - so you're saying that FOURTEEN days after cast the virgin has got mated and laying identifiable drone brood ie has been laying for >10 days. she is now around 3 weeks old.

anyone know if supercedure queens swarm (ie could she be a DLQ from a failed autumn supercedure?) - so first swarm had old queen (still functional), cast had DLQ (ie a 2011 virgin not a 2012 one!).

you didn't by any chance mix up smoker and soda stream when collecting/hiving the cast??????