Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
colony will develop these cups into queen cells that are so distinctive they are very easy
to recognize (see Figure 16).
Fig. 16.
A queen cell hanging from the bottom of a frame
(note the 'sculpture' of the cell)
A virgin queen emerges
If left alone, after around 16 days, from one or more
of these cells a virgin queen will emerge that will take
over the colony, the old queen having departed with
the swarm. This new virgin queen will go to the other
queen cells, if allowed to by the workers, and will
sting through the cell to kill off her potential rivals.
The virgin, however, is now in a precarious position. She has to leave the hive and fly
off to a drone congregation area to mate with many drones and then return to the
hive. This is a very dangerous period of her life. She could become lost, be eaten, hit
bad weather or be sprayed with pesticide. The worker bees may have protected one or
more of the remaining queen cells just in case she doesn't return and they need another
virgin, and they may have prevented the first virgin queen from harming it. If she mates
successfully and returns to the colony without mishap, however, she will be allowed to
kill off any rivals, whether they have emerged or not, or the bees themselves may tear
down any remaining queen cells.
After-swarms
Occasionally another virgin will emerge that is guarded by the workers until they are
sure she is not required, but this system seems sometimes to go wrong. I have seen a
swarm with a queen and seven virgins in it. What was going on in the original hive?
