pics - 3 eggs in a cell ?

[spiritfreedom]

I'm really new to identifying these things.
Here's what I see:

~Several eggs in a single cell...certainly capped drone cells but also a few capped worker cells

Am I correct in my estimations?



http://i40.tinypic.com/23jyoo.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/qnkbdc.jpg

[RayMarler]

I'm sorry to say it looks like you've got a laying worker hive to me. Drones being raised in worker sized cells with multiple eggs in cells and eggs not laid in center of cells.

Sometimes a freshly mated queen will lay multiple eggs in some cells at first until she gets the hang of it, but she won't lay drone eggs in worker sized cells, and you've got mostly drone caps there, from what I can see.

[chad]

Sorry about your problem,but your pictures a great._chad

[mgmoore7]

Is this a newly mated queen?

[spiritfreedom]

Sorry for the lag in reply. I missed this. She came with my package so she would have been unmated at that point. That was in May.

[gmcharlie]

I would have said young queen.,.... lots of them in the bottom and you mentioned capped workers..... A laying worker CANNOT lay workers at all......

SO what was the prognosis??

[spiritfreedom]

Just going off beesource replies coupled with the fact that they've gotten grumpier by the day, I'd say there is no queen. Certainly no capped workers that I've seen and more drones than (in my limited experience) one should see exiting the hive.

[gmcharlie]

then that would be a laying worker, they lay only drones.....

usually a laying worker doesn't reach the bottom of the cell...... her abdomen isn't lonk enough... but no capped workers is very positive sign of a laying worker or sterile queen.

[Michael Bush]

The brood looks really spotty which is also an indicator of laying workers.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslayingworkers.htm