observation hive questions WE HAVE A NEW FIRST LADY!!!!!

[EasternShore]

Hey All!  Becky Here......

We just set up our observation hive.  It's so COOL!!!!!!!!!  Anyhoo, we currently don't have a queen in there.  Until this morning we had 2 capped queen cells.  As I was sipping my coffee and smoking my last few cigarettes (my quit day is saturday), I noticed something a little unusual to a new-bee such as myself.  As I said, there WERE 2 queen cells this morning.  I noticed the worker bees were acting highly agitated around one of the queen cells.  Next I saw them pretty much shred the queen cell and then pull the pupa out of the hive.  There's still one cell left that looks like it's still intact.  

My question is........ do the bees behave differently when the queen is getting ready to hatch?  I've noticed them chewing on the other queen cell but not furiously like they were when they shredded the first one.  Sometimes there are several of them chewing on this remaining cell, then they get bored and go somewhere else.  I remember reading that they chew down and thin out the cap before she hatches.  When do they start doing this?? ....And is there anything I should look for that will give me that definite, "Ah-hah!  We're about to have a new baby Queen!!!"

I'm so excited......... this is sooooooooooooooooo cool........... I've given up my CNN addiction and am much calmer sitting and staring at the bees all day!

[Jack]

Sounds like what they do after the queen hatched. Sometimes you may not see the bottom of the cell because of it's location. Is that a chance?

[Kathyp]

good grief!  starting the day with CNN is enough to agitate anyone!!   :evil:

when i started mine, they made 4 or 5 queen cells.  one day, they were all gone and i thought maybe i'd have to start over.  i knew those cells were not ready.  i was advised to wait a bit and sure enough, within a week there was a laying queen in there.  i never knew if she came out of one of those cells or was hidden, but yes, they did tear all the other cells out.

[EasternShore]

WE HAVE A NEW FIRST LADY!!!!!!!

She hatched while we we're watching GLENN BECK...God forgive us...

This picture is alittle fuzzy due to plexiglass...

Becky saw her first...as always..you know how these Queens are, they can always find each other.....


WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
http://img38.imageshack.us/i/newqueen21hourold.jpg/