I have a Q-cell being made toward the top/middle of one of my frames in a hive with a low population but with an Italian queen that was bought in July. Today when I checked to see if the Q-cell was capped (it was not capped but longer and rounding at the end), the queen was on the same side of the frame running around quickly with spread wings. She also had a white projection coming from her abdomen which grow to about 1/8 of an inch and then fell out and was grabbed by some workers.
What was this? Does this have anything to do with the newly made Q-cell? Hive has plenty of open frames and I am feeding during this dearth, only one deep. She also was not surrounded by a court and has not been the last 2 weeks. She seems just to walk around, but when she stops the others do attend her.
You found the queen in the process of laying an egg, she got startled (you opened the hive) and was running around with the egg partly laid. Once it fell out, the workers grabbed it and disposed of it. When the queen matures a little more you'll likely find her with her abdomen still stuck in the cell in future situations.
Not an egg. I'm familiar with eggs having been a pest control operator and biology student. I should have described in more detail. This was an irregular shaped projection that was hair thin as it came out and then broadened a little. It was probably more than 1/8 inch long and had some jagged "curves" or "bends" to it. A very strange looking projection. Now it could have been the casing of an egg that did not form correctly. But it was "jagged" for lack of a better word. Kind of bending like a tree branch.
I just wondered if this is a condition of sick queens that someone had seen before. That's what I should have asked. But with the forming of this Queen cell and this thing coming out of the queen's hindquarters, I am a little upset for this late in the year.
I've never seen anything but a dismembered drone organ or an egg projecting out of a queens back end. If she just mated she could have a drone organ there. It is odd shaped.
Would she take the drone organ inside her? i watched it come out from a pinhead size to 2/8 of an inch then fall off. It took about 1 min. or less total time. I saw eggs in the cells today so she's still at it.
MB, they drew my PF 120 med. white, frame in less than 4 days. They seem to like it more than the black that I had in the same location. I'm putting in the med. then I will transfer to my OB hive. The SHB are easier to see also and I can smasssh them better.
all I can say is " DEATH TO THE SHB!!!!!!!" Nasty buggers!
>Would she take the drone organ inside her?
That is how they mate. The take it inside and rip it off of the drone who falls to his death.