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Author Topic: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive  (Read 1819 times)

Offline Caelansbees

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Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« on: May 04, 2013, 09:38:19 pm »
Upon inspecting a nuc today.  The queen was on the fram I was holding and many of the cells had double and triple eggs.  All dead center.  Nuc is full of brood, ready to place into a larger box.  What gives thou?

Online Kathyp

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Re: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2013, 09:57:58 pm »
young queens will often misfire.  she will settle down.
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline Caelansbees

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Re: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« Reply #2 on: May 04, 2013, 10:03:21 pm »
What will come of the cells with many eggs?

Offline iddee

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Re: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« Reply #3 on: May 04, 2013, 10:09:48 pm »
The workers will remove the extra if fertilized, remove them all if sterile.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

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Offline L Daxon

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Re: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« Reply #4 on: May 04, 2013, 10:31:19 pm »
Yep, I've seen that before with a young queen.  She'll get the hang of it soon enough and in the meantime the workers will correct her mistakes. 
Another way to tell you have a laying worker besides -- multiple eggs in a cell, all drones -- is that a laying worker's abdomen is shorter and her eggs very often will be on the sides of the cell as she can't reach the bottom as well as the elongated queen can.
linda d

Offline Michael Bush

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Offline Caelansbees

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Re: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« Reply #6 on: May 08, 2013, 01:22:04 am »
@Michael Bush, I know I had read that in your book.  However, I watched her do it myself. Popping them out rapid fire. Leaving 2-3 and sometimes as many as 4. 

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Multiple eggs per cell in queen right hive
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2013, 11:09:26 am »
New queens or queens who are starting to lay again after a break, often lay multiple eggs.  Usually not as many as 4 but I wouldn't rule that out...
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
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