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Author Topic: Queen cell ?  (Read 3856 times)

Offline Rich V

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Queen cell ?
« on: June 04, 2005, 01:09:38 am »
If a queen is failing. Does she know this,and still lays an egg in a queen cell? wouldn't this be like suicide. Or do the workers take an egg form another cell,and put it in the queen cell. I don't know just trying to think like a bee.

Offline thegolfpsycho

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Queen cell ?
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2005, 01:50:39 am »
No.. if they are going to superceded her, they convert the cell to a queen cell.. lavish royal jelly on the larvae, and make a queen

Online Michael Bush

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Queen cell ?
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2005, 12:46:28 pm »
>If a queen is failing. Does she know this,and still lays an egg in a queen cell? wouldn't this be like suicide. Or do the workers take an egg form another cell,and put it in the queen cell. I don't know just trying to think like a bee.

Queens lay eggs.  They don't "think" in terms of being usurped.  They "think" in terms of "I need to lay some drones" or "this looks like a good clean cell".

>No.. if they are going to superceded her, they convert the cell to a queen cell.. lavish royal jelly on the larvae, and make a queen

Sometimes.  But sometimes they make cups and the queen lays in them.  I've wathced them extensively in the observation hive and have seen them do it.
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Offline Rich V

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Queen cell ?
« Reply #3 on: June 04, 2005, 05:10:07 pm »
So the egg is laid first ,then the cell is built around it. ok!

Online Michael Bush

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Queen cell ?
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2005, 06:36:53 pm »
>So the egg is laid first ,then the cell is built around it. ok!

Sometimes they take a worker cell and rework it into a queen cell.

Sometimes they build the cup and then the queen lays in it.
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Offline Apis629

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Queen cell ?
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2005, 01:26:04 am »
Quote
Queens lay eggs. They don't "think" in terms of being usurped. They "think" in terms of "I need to lay some drones" or "this looks like a good clean cell".


It could just be that queens may be intelegent but lack the sensory organs with which to apply it.  They have the fewest intenal segments, smallest eyes and who knows what else.  Am I just having wishful thinking?