View Full Version : Another question
How do you tell the difference between a supercedure cell that is being built and one that is being broken down? There's a small one in my #1 hive and I can't tell whether it's coming or going. I found the queen and she looks healthy enough--she's huge! The brood pattern is not great but okay. Could this must be a cell from earlier in the season that was just never destroyed?
John Russell
06-30-2005, 10:37 AM
Tricky.
You might think the queen is healthy, but from a bee's perspective she might not. I would keep an eye on the cell for signs of completion over the next 14 days. If its a fresh one, it will obviously be employed. I have seen them make super-cells ( for practice? spares? make work projects? ) and then not use them.....or not use that particuler one.
J.R
carbide
06-30-2005, 10:41 AM
If there is an egg or larva in it then it is being built up. If there is nothing in it then it is either being torn down or is just one that the bees built for practice or for later use (which they sometime do).
Duhh. Why didn't I think of that carbide? Makes perfect sense. Nothing in it that I could see, but I have trouble seeing eggs. Thanks for the tip.
Michael Bush
06-30-2005, 12:17 PM
Like Carbide said. smile.gif Either way I'd leave it for the bees to sort out, but under the circumstances, it's probably just a cup.
Thanks, Michael. I wasn't going to do anything about it. I try to let my girls make the decisions and I step in only when they absolutely need my help. Was just curious about whether this cup was coming or going.