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I've caught a couple of swarms from the same bee tree this spring. The tree has been occupied by bees for a few years at least.
I've noticed that they are uncapping brood (can see the eyes so it's not "almost capped" grubs). It's not huge amounts but maybe 3-5 per side of the comb when we look. It makes the brood pattern look somewhat spotty, but the queen comes back and fills them right back up with eggs.
I know this can be hygenic behavior, but is there any way to know why they are uncapping them? If I use a tweezers or something to pop some of these uncapped pupae out, would that tell me anything? They look healthy from the little bit that I can see, bright white and their eyes look good. Would I see varroa or anything if I looked?
I haven't seen a single uncapped cell in any of the mated queens that we purchased or that came with our packages this year. So it's a pretty stark difference at this point in time.
I've noticed that they are uncapping brood (can see the eyes so it's not "almost capped" grubs). It's not huge amounts but maybe 3-5 per side of the comb when we look. It makes the brood pattern look somewhat spotty, but the queen comes back and fills them right back up with eggs.
I know this can be hygenic behavior, but is there any way to know why they are uncapping them? If I use a tweezers or something to pop some of these uncapped pupae out, would that tell me anything? They look healthy from the little bit that I can see, bright white and their eyes look good. Would I see varroa or anything if I looked?
I haven't seen a single uncapped cell in any of the mated queens that we purchased or that came with our packages this year. So it's a pretty stark difference at this point in time.