View Full Version : Foul weather delays
I recently engaged a fellow beekeeper in a conversation about mating delays, which can happen due to inclement weather. He seems to feel that if a queen is not mated in about a week that she must be destroyed and a new cell put in. I disagreed because there was 4 days of rain about three days after the queens emerged. I feel a couple of nice mating days and a few more days for the semen to migrate to the spermatheca and all will be well. Any thoughts on the subject? I usually only destroy a virgin if a substantial period of time passes of good weather and still no worker eggs.
JBJ
Michael Bush
06-20-2005, 04:46 PM
"If she receives the male during the first fifteen days of her life, she remains capable of laying both the eggs of workers and of drones; but should fecundation be retarded until the twenty-second day, her ovaries are vitiated in such a manner that she becomes unfit for laying the eggs of workers, and will produce only those of drones. "
NEW OBSERVATIONS, ON THE NATURAL HISTORY BEES by
François Huber (1750-1831).
The queens are hardening for the first three or four days and not even trying to fly. The next three or four are orientation flights. But they can be postponed a bit. If she mates by day fourteen or fifteen she'll still be fine.
Thanks for the citation Michael, this will be handy when we continue our conversation.
JBJ
Morris
06-22-2005, 07:56 AM
S0, would it be correct to assume that if the virgin queen does not mate within 15 days, she is destined to be a drone producer the rest of her life? Do the workers simply accept this.
"should fecundation be retarded until the twenty-second day, her ovaries are vitiated in such a manner that she becomes unfit for laying the eggs of workers"
My interpretation of this statement is that she must be mated by 21 days or she will become a drone layer due physiological changes in her ovaries. I have seen this happen and the worker will accept her as long as there is no other choice. I have re-celled a mating nuc with a drone layer and have witnessed the bees removing and balling the old drone layer as the new queen begins to take over.
JBJ
Morris
06-27-2005, 08:04 PM
LBJ, thanks for the reply. A cold and wet Spring created a real challenge to raising queens in this part of Oregon this year. All the carefull planing had met it's match in the form of chaotic weather. Your input on the bees' willingness to accept a mated queen and abandon a drone layer is helpfull. That would have been my next question.
Michael Bush
06-27-2005, 09:04 PM
I think the point is that in 15 days she will almost always mate and be fine. In 21 days she will almost always be a drone layer. From 16 to 21 days it's just iffy.
Morris, so you to have had to wrestle with Oregons temperamental weather tempest? I wonder how many people are raising queens in this state? Do you grow queens commercially or for personal use? Do you visit the OSBA site?
JBJ
Morris
06-29-2005, 06:22 PM
LBJ, I would imagine there are not too many people rearing queens in Oregon. As you know, the iffy weather can create drone layers AND grey hairs. Fortunately, when the weather finally got consitently above 69 degrees, things went very well. In addition to you I know that Dr. Lynn Royce is trying, however with limited success at this point. I think the weather was a limiting factor for her as well. I am only very slightly more involved than a hobbyist. I'm raising SMR queens from breeders. Part of a project to control Varroa mites.
Morris, I have had good luck mating in the mid 50s, the drones I have seem to fly just fine at cool temps. The problems I was having were chilling larvae and sometimes cells. Also starting with bulk bees and no stores meant constant feeding. As long as a cell made it to day 10 and the mating nuc had an adequate supply of bees and food the results were decent, but sometimes delayed. Now we are moving nucs to cooler locations to beat the heat. One extreme to the next I suppose. Are you attending the fall conference?
JBJ
Morris
06-30-2005, 06:07 PM
LBJ, Yes I'll be at the conference. How about you? If so, would love to chat with you there.
Hey, were you the first person to find the small hive beetle in Oregon?
Morris,
Yes, I think John was the first to find SHB. Not in his hives, but someone he was helping.
Let's hope our clay soil slows them down a mite.
Pugs
I plan on attending, and yes I had the displeasure of finding SHB in a friends hives. It was only a matter of time with beetle infested colonies moving into California. C U there
JBJ
Morris
07-01-2005, 06:40 PM
Pugs makes a good point. The soil must be sandy for the SHB to reproduce, and it NOT sandy here.
If you bring a tropical plant into an area where it is not adapted, it may survive for a while, but will not reproduce. Let's hope that will be the situation with the SHB. Will you also be going to the conference at Agate beach?