Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DOWN UNDER BEEKEEPING => Topic started by: Tugboat on July 29, 2012, 06:00:24 am
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I've had a cranky, but populous hive for a couple of weeks now. The flow is on, checked today and the bees are covering large white larvae- 25-35 mm long with wax on the top bars. Are these supersede cells? The queen in the hive is only a year old. What should I do.. split the hive? use the cells to make nucs? Or just leave them?
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Bee glad you have them unless they get too mean to work.
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Are these peanut-looking cells that are built out from the comb and hang down parallel with the face of the comb? Supersedure cells are normally placed on the side of the comb towards the top of the frame and usually there are only a few of them...how many cells are there? Supersedure cells mean the beans are not satisfied with the queen and want to replace her...let them.
Ed
P.S. Being subtropical I would think that you'll have drones flying *most* of the months.
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A pic of the frame would be nice to see.
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As soon as the swelling goes away on my face, I'll take photo's, The larvae were on the top of the top bars. I'll try to get out there tomorrow.
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Sounds like drone larvae in bridge comb between frames and is common.
Scott
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Sounds like drone larvae in bridge comb between frames and is common.
Scott
Oh NO, Scotty. You are in the Downunder area you know. Sit down and we'll teach you some millimeter conversions. 25mm = approx one inch. So 25-35mm is approx 1-1.5 inches. Or to be precise, 25mm-35mm = 0.9842519685039-1.377952755905 inches. Now that is very long to be drones.
Lone :lau:
Metric and vegemite educator
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Thanks for the reality slap Lone...wasn't thinking! :-D
Scott
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Sounds like drones to me! don't be overly concerned unless they look like peanuts as Ed said...a pic would certainly help though.
If it's a cranky hive then I wouldn't be in too much of a rush to stop them from getting rid of the old queen... but, you could always make up a few nucs with them (if they're queen cells) and the potentially re-queen with whateve line you'd like at a later time... if your current queen is a cranky cow then it's possible her offspring might have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed too!
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What about the metric equivalents of the other Aussie measurements Lone ??
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cranky bees....apparently numerous drone larvae (at least enough to make a comment on)....
Are you seeing single eggs in the cells and capped worker cells?
Yeah, the thought of laying workers or a drone laying queen came to mind...
Ed
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cranky bees....apparently numerous drone larvae (at least enough to make a comment on)....
Are you seeing single eggs in the cells and capped worker cells?
Yeah, the thought of laying workers or a drone laying queen came to mind...
Ed
Although a possibility it's probably one of the least likely things i'd consider - the bees are building up for spring and it's pretty normal for them to lay drones in burr comb - it's a possibility though and not one to be discounted... I've got a hive that is queenright and the queen (now) is a year and a half old - she's not going to see out another season because her hive is just wwwaayyy too hot! I would look to see how many eggs are in the cells though and whether they're located centrally in the cell. Have you seen capped worker brood? let us know how you go... I doub't they're queen cells rather drone larvae - also, if it's a queen cell, it's unlikely that you'd be able to see the larvae without having to do some work to look inside.
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What about the metric equivalents of the other Aussie measurements Lone ??
1 vegemite = 1.5 tbsp
In my imagination I can't see how what Tug is decribing could be drone larvae. I think that photo will make everything as clear as a bees wing.
Lone
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Thanks for everyones response. Definitely drone cells. Went out yesterday and tried to take photo's, but, my camera has spent a year in my glovebox and I think the heat has made every pic a strange green colour! So no go.
Also read today that lots of drone cells, especially in burr comb is a sign of swarming soon? Anyone with experience on this? The bees are working great though, packed on probably 25kg of honey in a week, although still a bit rough for me!
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Define lots of drone brood? is every capped cell a drone? and how much is there? There's been times where i've had burr comb o top of my frames (or under my frames if two boxes high) and it's been packed with drones! because that's what the hive felt they needed at that time! A picture would definitely help! if they're as active as you say they are and, from the sounds of things, they're up in the lid, I'd add another super! can you see any capped worker brood/eggs down in the brood nest? have you spotted the queen? If it's warm enough you may want to do the ol' divide and conquer to find her if they're too hot to go through each frame... i think it's important to identify if your hive is queen right (which i think it would be) and then re-queen... sounds like you're on a flow so now is the perfect time I guess to re-queen but you will need to get one from up north (John Covey maybe)
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I apologise, I was only estimating the size of queens and drones but it looks like I'll have to get my callipers on them.
I agree with Ozzie that it would be good to see pictures, even if they are green. I like looking at pictures. (Yes, Geoff, I haven't learned to read yet.)
Lone