Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Hethen57 on April 26, 2010, 01:43:17 PM

Title: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: Hethen57 on April 26, 2010, 01:43:17 PM
How do the bees use those empty queen cells that they often build in a queenright hive?  I have read that it is normal to find queen sells (uncapped and apparently empty) that the bees just build....but I was wondering how they get the queen to lay in them or if they will transfer an egg or 3 day larva to them if they need to use them, or if it is just to practice building them?
Title: Re: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: Jim134 on April 26, 2010, 02:42:42 PM
Are you looking at queen cells or queen cups  ???



   BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)
Title: Re: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: Hethen57 on April 26, 2010, 02:58:25 PM
Sorry...queen cups..
Title: Re: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: doak on April 26, 2010, 03:54:24 PM
Cups will almost always be present. :)doak
Title: Re: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: Hethen57 on April 26, 2010, 04:41:33 PM
I was just curious if they can turn them into something they use to make a queen, or if they are just for show..(indicating to the queen "you can be replaced at anytime if we wanted to"  :-D)
Title: Re: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 27, 2010, 01:08:24 AM
Doolittle used to cut them out and use them for queen cells for grafting...
Title: Re: Fake Queen Cells?
Post by: applebwoi on April 27, 2010, 01:28:13 AM
Same question as Hethern57, what are the cups for? I've tried to get a queenless hive to make a new queen and found some cups  on the side of a frame the other day with larve inside but they weren't on the frame of eggs and brood I introduced so I'm at a loss??