Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The diagram illustrates development time in days for queens, workers, and drones.
Because of their large size, queen cells are attached to the bottoms of frames, or fit
between frames, and are easily visible.
Queens are produced for a variety of reasons: to replace a queen lost through injury,
in preparation for swarming, or to replace a failing, but still present, queen.
When a replacement queen is needed to replace an injured or failing queen, colonies
almost never produce only one queen cell; they make as many as they can (if resources
are limited) or as many as they want (if resources are ample). Queen cells can range in
number from two or three to twenty or more and can be found on both sides of several
frames. The process of producing multiple queen cells occurs over two to three days.
Therefore, not all of the queen larvae are of the same age. The first queen to emerge
destroys as many of the still-developing queens as she can find, eliminating the com-
petition. She does this by chewing through the side of the queen cell and stinging the
developing queen pupa inside. Sometimes, two or three queens emerge simultaneously,
and they eventually meet and fight to the death, often with help from the workers.
A colony generally tolerates only a single monarch, but on occasion, an older, failing
queen and the triumphant daughter can coexist for a time. Sometimes, sister queens who
emerge at the same time coexist without fighting. The common thread here is the close
relationship and similar chemical cues they produce. In both cases, this is positive for
the colony because of the increased egg-laying potential. Eventually, the older queen
dies, or is killed by the workers.
For two to three days, the victorious, virginal queen continues to mature, feeding her-
self or being fed by house bees. Orientation flights near the colony begin after a week or
so. The young, unmated monarch needs to learn the landmarks near the hive so that she
can find her way back after a mating flight. Once she is comfortable with navigation,
weather permitting, she starts mating. Queens hardly ever mate with the drones from
their own colony (inbreeding could cause genetic problems in offspring). Instead, they
take flight, looking for drones from other colonies. Drones and queens gather in places
