large larvae

[bill wuttke]

hi im new this year ive just destroyed several large larvae cell on top of one frame, dont know what they were poss 4 times the size of a maggot, what were they good or bad, are there any books that will show me what type of cells are good and bad in a hive, sincere regards bill

[Axtmann]

Go online or someplace else and order a good book about beekeeping for beginners.

The only bad cells in a hive are cells that contain AFB, EFB or other diseases.

[AR Beekeeper]

What you cut out was probably drone larvae. The removal of drones is one method of limiting the reproduction of the varroa mites and is usually done by removing frames that are made to be all drone cells.

There are many good books for beginners and it always helps if you can join a club and work with experienced beekeepers. When I started out I learned more about bees in one day working a with an experienced friend than I had learned by reading for a month!

[peletier]

Bees often build drone cells between frames, especially if you are using all worker size foundation. These cells tear when you pull the frames apart....not much you can do about it. A few foundationless frames (or a whole hive full) will give the bees somewhere to raise their drones besides between frames.