I swiped this off a forum page. What do you vote laying worker or young queen gone wild:) Eggs seem to be at the bottom of cells but look at how many. Look at eggs on top of pollen.
I vote laying workers. There is a heavy debate on the forum about it. Anyway good teaching photo.
(http://i61.tinypic.com/qo9083.jpg)
I vote new queen.
Way too many eggs, I count as many as 7 in one cell as well as they are laid on top of pollen. It looks like laying workers. I suspect the depth of the cells is not as deep as normal, allowing the workers abdomen to reach the bottom of the cell.
A new queen may lay 2 or sometimes 3 eggs in a cell, I doubt that she would lay on pollen.
Jim
My thought too Jim, cells look shallow.....hard to tell in a pic but I think cells are not normal brood depth.
Laying workers. A new queen gets some right, and some wrong. Not all wrong. Also, sawdstmakr hit it with "A new queen may lay 2 or sometimes 3 eggs in a cell, I doubt that she would lay on pollen."
This is a great pic. My hive that I'm questioning has more single eggs than multiples. Thanks for the info.
Quote from: tireman on March 25, 2015, 08:48:33 AM
This is a great pic. My hive that I'm questioning has more single eggs than multiples. Thanks for the info.
I agree more singles than multiples for a new queen. I just thought it was a good picture to give thoughts on and did not want to hi-jack tiremans thread.
I have a lot of folks ask how I know there is a laying worker.
I saved this photo so I can show it to them.
Good photo.
Quote from: sc-bee on March 25, 2015, 09:46:40 AM
Quote from: tireman on March 25, 2015, 08:48:33 AM
This is a great pic. My hive that I'm questioning has more single eggs than multiples. Thanks for the info.
I agree more singles than multiples for a new queen. I just thought it was a good picture to give thoughts on and did not want to hi-jack tiremans thread.
Sc-bee I would rather have too many responses than none at all. I'm a second year beek so hijack away. I have much to learn. Thanks for the info.
Of course you may want to call this picture an over exaggeration of sorts. There in most likely multiple laying workers here in a hive that has been queenless for a while. I have never seen one this bad before....I have heard said all hives have laying workers even the queenright ones. The hive just keeps them under control.
Laying workerS (thousands of them). Too many eggs for a queen. Eggs on pollen. Classic laying worker signs.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm
Eggs on pollen as a sign of a laying worker. I've never seen that with a laying worker, but never looked for it either. It's completely logical as a tell tail sign. I learn something every day
Dont try to over think whats going on in your hives-if you are just starting out then follow the wisdom of the
hive (this takes time and grows with each season )-for instance the brood that hatches out is going to be your indicator----perhaps its a quakmeyer of a fresh start queen --or --drone layer--But if you are well on your way to driving your hive in the direction you want it to go--then consider
problem QUEEN- weather she is a laying worker or a spastic fresh start--WHAT the HIVE NEEDS is a insertion
of two frames of open brood this is almost undisputed as a proper litmus test as to why the colony is in this state
--brood pheromone- inhibits worker bees from ovary production--so thats how the colony keeps laying works
at a miamum-whats relay going on is a great tool to learn by-- :cool: RDY-B
Of course you could wait till the brood is capped and see if there are any workers. That and of course look harder for a queen if she is there to determine a drone layer. I guess the need of immediate action would also be determined by hive .
Insert a couple frames of brood, ... you think a couple wold do it? Maybe a couple several times? Would all the workers laying present not suppress the drawing of a queen cell?
>Insert a couple frames of brood, ... you think a couple wold do it? Maybe a couple several times? Would all the workers laying present not suppress the drawing of a queen cell?
One frame. Every week. For three weeks.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm#successful
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespanacea.htm
>Would all the workers laying present not suppress the drawing of a queen cell?
Yes. But once they are set back by the open brood pheromones they will not.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm#pheromones