Laying Queen Confirmed
I also checked the little nuc I had put a frame in last week and found two supercedure cells with larva in them, though not capped yet. So they will be making a queen as well, which I'll likely give to a friend who lost his bees and wants to start up again.
Awesome news! All is well in the hives. Do you have carniolans? They look dark on the pic. Ours were almost black.
ReplyDeleteBees are so amazing the way they take care of themselves. So great to see them making a queen I'm sure :)
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is really cool to see them actually make their own queen. I'm hoping to be able to do that as needed now. It seems each year I've been buying queens, and you know what, the ones I buy don't seem to last any longer than the free ones! They are supposed to be Italians, but who knows when you can't control with whom the queen mates. I assume (though I should research it) an Italian queen can mate with a Carniolan drone??
Quick research--this from Beesource forums:
ReplyDelete"They will mate with whichever drones get to them first. It does not matter the lineage. You can raise more drones of whichever line you want, and by doing that, flood the area with the desirable genetics. Then your odds go up. They will also mate with whatever drones come from your neighbor's bees and any ferals around you."
Moon
I think it is first come, first served when the queens go out to mate. I had two hives of Carniolans and two Italians. The Carnis were almost black. One of my Carni hives swarmed and weeks later, I found a laying queen, and when the brood started hatching -- they were yellowish/dark brown. They may be mutts, but they have done great. I like to call them Italianolians.
ReplyDeleteJim, Good feeling to know your hives are queen right. I had that same feeling a few weeks ago. Now we have another hive my biggest swarmed last week. No brood except a few drones emerging or close to emerging. Lots of left over open swarm cells and one capped one. Will give them a few weeks to see if we have a laying queen. Took 40 pounds of honey from this hive!
ReplyDeleteRandy, I took a peak at your swarm video. They are pretty awesome, aren't they. So you're harvesting honey in May? We'd never be able to do that here in Iowa. Maybe if I did a Warre hive. Sounds like a good harvest--hope it tastes great.
DeleteJim