[username00101]

Occasionally I'll screw up and inspect a frame without noticing a capped queen cell hidden in an unusual location.

Yesterday, I turned the frame upside down, and noticed one. I didn't shake the frame, nor did I turn it upside down violently, but it was upside down at one point.

Sometimes I'll "damage" the outside of a capped queen cell, when removing an adjacent frame.

Questions:

1. How much abuse can a capped queen cell take - esp in regards to the 2 above mentioned accidents?

2. Will a hive be less likely to produce a secondary swarm if I remove most of the honey that the original hive stored?

Thanks for your help.

 

[little_john]

Upside-down shouldn't be a problem if the frame was handled gently. Damage to the outside of a q/cell probably signs it's death warrant - I've done this a few times and none of them ever survived.

FWIW - this is from my working 'notebook' - forget now where I copied it from.

Queen development stages:
-------------------------
Day 0-3 Egg
Day 4-8 Open larvae (5 days)
Day 8 +/-1 Q/Cell capped
Day 10 Larva pupates
Day 14 Wings develop
Day 15 Final moult to adult
Day 15-16 Emerges from cell

Critical times are first 3 days of larval feeding which determines the queen quality; at 8-10 days the larva must not be dislodged from food or will die; days 14-16 if chilled or shaken wings may be damaged.

If moving queen cell, best between days 11 and 13 inclusive.

Sorry - no idea about the honey removal viz-a-viz swarming.
LJ

 

[Nelsonhoneyfarms]

If moving queen cell, best between days 11 and 13 inclusive.

I agree. A friend of mine told me he worked for a guy that would actually put the capped QCs in a big bowl as he was collecting them with no problems.

I dropped a frame with several capped queen cells earlier this year. It dropped and banged against a metal pipe. The queens emerged fine.

 

[Matt903]

I knocked over a grafting frame while placing cells in mating boxes. The frame and about 30 fourteen day old cells go flying through the air, and fall about four feet to the ground. Everyone hatched and got a mated queen back.