Just a thought here. I was thinking if a hive swarmed and the old queen was left behind because of a clipped wing the hive might recover faster from the swarming process. Of course there could be other consequences as well. The extra time it takes for the virgins to hatch could prolong the lack of brood rearing and also more bees may leave because they had to wait longer to swarm. What are yalls thoughts or observations. Thanks.
Clipping Queens and Hive Recovery
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>Just a thought here. I was thinking if a hive swarmed and the old queen was left behind because of a clipped wing the hive might recover faster from the swarming process.
Usually the old queen is dead at that point in my experience... if she can't leave she often gets lost when she tries to leave, or maybe they have disposed of her.
Usually the old queen is dead at that point in my experience... if she can't leave she often gets lost when she tries to leave, or maybe they have disposed of her.
Usually they wait a few more days and leave with a virgin. But nothing is set in stone with swarms. Im sure some leave to a new home without a queen but most come back till. Avirgin hatches. Also queens do not destroy swarm cells. I think the workers protect them.
>I did'nt think a hive would swarm without a queen
They won't. But they don't have to leave with THAT queen. There are lots of queen cells in a swarming hive and they will leave with the first virgin.
>An if left in the old hive would'nt she kill all swarm cells as they hatch.
The bees guard the swarm cells from the first virgin queen (the laying queen has no interest in queen cells or virgin queens) so she can't destroy them unless they let her.
What usually happens with a clipped queen is she tries to leave with the swarm and ends up on the ground and they end up in the tree. Then they return for her and the swarm ends up on the ground for a while. If she can't get back in the hive, the swarm goes back and leaves her on the ground where she dies...
They won't. But they don't have to leave with THAT queen. There are lots of queen cells in a swarming hive and they will leave with the first virgin.
>An if left in the old hive would'nt she kill all swarm cells as they hatch.
The bees guard the swarm cells from the first virgin queen (the laying queen has no interest in queen cells or virgin queens) so she can't destroy them unless they let her.
What usually happens with a clipped queen is she tries to leave with the swarm and ends up on the ground and they end up in the tree. Then they return for her and the swarm ends up on the ground for a while. If she can't get back in the hive, the swarm goes back and leaves her on the ground where she dies...
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