Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => REQUEENING & RAISING NEW QUEENS => Topic started by: BeeDog on January 26, 2014, 07:55:41 am
-
A virgin queen I grafted just emerged last week to my surprise the virgin queen is quite small like a worker bee but has a big butt or belly. My virgin queen are usually longer than worker bees. But this virgin queen is short and has a big butt. Is it normal? Should I dispose her and make/introduce another one?
-
I've had smaller queens lay up a storm and fill a hive.
The bees themselves will decide for you when she starts to lay.
If shes not doing her job, they will replace her in short order. :chop:
-
I've had smaller queens lay up a storm and fill a hive.
The bees themselves will decide for you when she starts to lay.
If shes not doing her job, they will replace her in short order. :chop:
Our weather here will be sunny for another 5 months since summer is nearing and there are a lot of drones, I hope that she will be mated and laying soon. But this queen has a really huge butt.. hope it will fit the cells. 8-) :evil:
-
Depending on your how many Virgin Queens you have available Queen breeders usually make a selection and get rid of Small queens because % they less likely to produce at 100%
Making Virgin Queens is easy and dosenot use or cost much in the way of resources.
Mated Queens are a drain and demand bees and time.
mvh Edward :-P
-
Agreeing with Edward that the percentages are against you with a smaller queen.
But, if your needing one soon she'll probably do.
-
A small Queen is better than no Queen :angel:
The day you have 20 to choose from and you only need 10 It's like one of history's biggest Queens sang
Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round :-D
Queen - 'Fat Bottomed Girls' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnjF1O4eH0#)
mvh Edward :-P
-
:th_thumbsupup:
-
A newly emerged queen is always small. A queen who isn't currently laying is small. A queen that is laying is larger than one that is not. A queen that is mated is larger than one that is not.
-
Yesterday the bees balled the small virgin queen. Turned out they didn't really like small queens. 8-)
-
They didn't like something about her then.
At least you have resources to make yourself a new one!
Carry on dog.
-
I guess she has a problem or defect that the bees detected, I will probably just buy a mated queen or I'll just unite the bees with other hives. But having this small virgin queen is a "first" in my beekeeping experience. A memorable experience.
-
Yesterday the bees balled the small virgin queen. Turned out they didn't really like small queens. 8-)
She hatched on the 26th and they balled her yesterday, what and where was she doing in the week ?
How did you introduce her to the hive?
mvh Edward :-P
-
I introduced her through queen cell cap, I put the queen cell on the sealed brood frame in a five frame nuc box colony that was queenless for 24 hours. When she emerged she was quite small, I didn't checked the hive again till the day I noticed that the bees outside the nuc box is very excited and buzzing angrily, at first I thought it was robbing, but when I opened the box they were balling the small queen, she was not mated as she didn't lay any eggs.