Split-made Queens

[PA Pete]

A split I made last Sunday (8 days ago) has both capped Queen cells and one or two uncapped Q cells. My original intent with this split was to get into it on Thursday to cull any sealed Q cells, but weather prevented this.

So here I am a few days late wondering if I should cull the sealed cells now. Based on my understanding of Q development timing, the unsealed cells were likely eggs when I made the split, so they've hopefully been treated like queens from the start. The sealed cells are big question marks for me though.

Given I'm a bit late, should I still cull the sealed ones? I may actually be culling good queens, but so long as there is at least one unsealed Q cell, it seems like I'm better off culling.

Thoughts?

thanks

[naturebee]

--Given I'm a bit late, should I still cull the sealed ones?

My prefrence is to let the bees figure this out, they know best.

--I may actually be culling good queens,

true

--but so long as there is at least one unsealed Q cell, it seems like I'm better off culling.

Sometimes queens are prevented from exiting cells for reasons unknown and younger cells allowed to remain probably as a sort of back up. If all the cells are culled, then theres a one chance at success or failure with no back up plan.

[Hook]

You said -->So here I am a few days late wondering if I should cull the sealed cells now. Based on my understanding of Q development timing, the unsealed cells were likely eggs when I made the split, so they've hopefully been treated like queens from the start. The sealed cells are big question marks for me though.

Yes, they unsealed cells were likely eggs. The sealed cells were probably larvae that the bees picked to be queens. Either way, you are probably ok. Remember, all cells are fed royal jelly in the beginning. After a day or so, the diet becomes more crude for workers. That is why it is important to graft larvae of the correct age. But, since you obviously picked a frame with open brood and eggs, it is unlikely that the bees would pick a larvae that was too old. Bees have been around for a million years, my bet is they chose the perfect age of larvae.

I will add this though, it would be in your best interest to feed them heavily while the cells are open. Your queens will be better that way.

[ June 04, 2006, 06:11 PM: Message edited by: Hook ]

[Michael Bush]

>So here I am a few days late wondering if I should cull the sealed cells now.

I would not.

"It has been stated by a number of beekeepers who should know better (including myself) that the bees are in such a hurry to rear a queen that they choose larvae too old for best results. later observation has shown the fallacy of this statement and has convinced me that bees do the very best that can be done under existing circumstances.

"The inferior queens caused by using the emergency method is because the bees cannot tear down the touch cells in the old combs lined with cocoons. The result is that the bees fill the worker cells with bee milk floating the larvae out the opening of the cells, then they build a little queen cell pointing downward. The larvae cannot eat the bee milk back in the botom of the cells with the result that they are not well fed. Hoever, if the colony is strong in bees, are well fed and have new combs, they can rear the best of queens. And please note-- they will never make such a blunder as choosing larvae too old." --Jay Smith (famous queen breeder who probably raised more queens than anyone who ever lived), Better Queens

This, of course, contradicts the theory of culling the capped queen cells at four days.