Apis Cerana Drone Brood

[George Fergusson]

Facinating picture of Apis Cerana drone brood I ran across. For some reason, the cappings have a hole in them.

http://www.stratfordbeekeepers.homecall.co.uk/CeranaDroneBrood.JPG

[Chef Isaac]

George... you seem to have a lot of time on your hands :)

that is a interesting picture!

[Dave W]

Are they looking for mites????

[George Fergusson]

Are they looking for mites????

It's been suggested that they're looking for and removing mites but I don't think that's proven, and it's hard to imagine them doing much prospecting through those holes. They look pretty small, not much bigger than a mite. So I have no clue what/why for the holes, but they're fascinating, eh?

[Gene Weitzel]

It's been suggested that they're looking for and removing mites but I don't think that's proven, and it's hard to imagine them doing much prospecting through those holes. They look pretty small, not much bigger than a mite. So I have no clue what/why for the holes, but they're fascinating, eh?

From Zach's Bee Photos [(c) Zachary Huang]:

Workers remove the wax a few days after the drone larvae were sealed, exposing the cocoon-cap which has a small hole on it. The significance of the hole is not clear. However, we do know that the strong capping can only be opened by the drone when he emerges. Workers outside cannot open the caps, leaving dead drones to mummify inside. This can be another mechanism of mite-resistance because if the drone pupae has too many mites and dies, mites will be trapped inside and will also die.

[jim b]

Clever girls.