Do queens shut down?

[MJuric]

I've noticed a very low amount of eggs in most of my hives and a seeming resistance to laying in empty frames I place in the hive.

We've had hot and very dry weather in our area all summer as well as a very early start to our summer. Do queens occasionally shut down under certain conditions, stop laying to control population?

~Matt

[kpence73]

I've noticed a very low amount of eggs in most of my hives and a seeming resistance to laying in empty frames I place in the hive.

We've had hot and very dry weather in our area all summer as well as a very early start to our summer. Do queens occasionally shut down under certain conditions, stop laying to control population?

~Matt

I have seen the exact same thing down here in the Atlanta area. I have one hive that the queen is only laying in 2-3 frames and will wait until cells on those frames open up. The brood pattern also looks like a checkerboard. It is bad.

[Vance G]

The bees determine hw many eggs are produced by the encouragement they give the queen. The bees should scale down production during dearths and seasonally. Those who don't starve out.

[geebob]

Yes, although 10 out of my 11 hives are gaining weight, the majority of them have also reduced their brood output. Thought I might have been seeing some queenlessness or supersessions but it looks like the queens are just slowing down. I blame the drought... no significant rain here in a month.

[Alan277]

I have also seen this happen to me last weekend when I went through both of my hives completely frame by frame. I currently have 3 deeps on. 2 deeps are for brood, and the other for surplus honey. The bees have had brood in the bottom two boxes, and started drawing comb in the top box two weeks ago. Last weekend when I did my frame by frame of all boxes, I noticed that the brood was back only on a few frames in the bottom box. I did not see eggs but did see larvae. In the second brood box, they started to back fill with honey, where the brood hatched. I also am wondering if the queens shut down with excessive heat and no rain.

[MJuric]

I'm just south of you in Northern Illinois.

I was thinking I had some queenless hives because I was putting in empty frames and no eggs. Upon inspection I find some eggs, just small patches. They just aren't laying full out like they normally do.

We've not seen any appreciable rain since May. I think the largest we got was maybe 1/4"since then. I think we totaled .5" in June which is close to 4" less than what we normally get. We are looking at a whopping .3" in July so far.

~Matt

[cdevier]

Alan277,
I just finished checking my three biggest hives (2 medium broodboxes plus 1 medium super).
I did see one queen; saw lots of capped brood; no larva and no eggs. We have not had a good rain for 6 weeks -very dry here- and over 100 degrees.
We extracted honey from these three hives 3 weeks ago and got 60 pounds. Unless it rains, there will be no more honey collected this year.
I was surprized how much honey (nector) the bees had put back into the frames that we returned to the hives - they may make enought to get through the winter

[CaBees]

One theory I've heard / read is that queens stop laying during times of dearth is a form of mite control....

[Mountain Bee]

Will she start laying again if you start feeding sugar syrup heavy?

[Lburou]

I had two queens that stopped laying for a week or ten days, twice in this June...Hadn't seen that before. I think some bee strains have genetics that allow them to be frugal with stores at all times of the year.

Cutting back on brood rearing saves stores during a dearth, or heat, or other stressor. Brother Adam mentioned this trait in his writings, noting that Italians and some other strains he observed will produce brood in excess, then consume honey stores before winter is over, and die out. This cessation of brood does play havoc with the varroa mites.

[sfisher]

I check 4 hives yesturday that had queens and could not find eggs in any of them. Do you all think that this is from the heat, it is hot down here.

[Joseph Clemens]

Around here, most colonies/queens start reducing their brood nests whenever it's been dry for too long and all the vegetation/forage shuts down. I try to anticipate this and begin feeding pollen sub patties that are half sugar or a little more. Sometimes I feed a little sugar syrup, too. If it remains dry, I sometimes need to continue feeding until Spring, when many plants bloom and are good sources of forage, despite the weather.

[juzzerbee]

Here in southern Wisconsin it has been very dry also. Do any beekeepers feed during a dearth? I am wondering because aren't supers still on during a dearth? Thanks, juzzerbee

[Seymore]

Yes, I feed during a dearth if the individual hive looks like it needs it. You risk losing your hive unless its stores are substantial (depending on breed I suppose.) I checked 3 hives, 2 were okay, but I'm watching closely and giving heft tests. The other was about to starve. So far that's the only hive I'm feeding. I don't worry about the honey if I have to feed. In essence, if I HAVE to feed, honey is irrelevant - meaning, I won't pull any because it means life or death for the hive, whether fall or spring.

Yes, most definitely queens shut down as was said. They do this to control the resources. Feed and watch. You will get eggs right away. Amazing.

Mite control? Yes, as a RESULT of, not the intention of. If no eggs, no brood. No brood no food for the mites. It can certainly be an upside to the cycle. Same as when bees are making a new queen. That's why some folks do cut down splits for mite control.