CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What is a queen bee cell?

1.What is the queen cell of bees?

The queen cell is where female bees specifically raise queen bees.

The queen cells of honey bees that appear during natural swarming are generally located below the honeycomb with their openings facing downward, while the common worker bee and drone honeycombs are horizontal. The queen cells are larger than the worker bee and drone cells and are round, while the worker bee and drone cells are hexagonal.

Additional information:

The queen bee is also called the "mother bee" or "queen bee". It is the only female bee in the bee colony that can lay eggs normally. The queen bee is no different from ordinary worker bees. Ordinary worker bees can eat royal jelly for three or four days after hatching into larvae, but if a lucky larva is arranged to live in the queen cell, it will have royal jelly for life and will become a queen bee.

In reality, there are more than one queen cell in a bee's body, but there are eight or ten. The first queen bee to emerge will order the killing of the queen bee that has not yet emerged. If two queen bees emerge at the same time, they will use the "king's needle" to fight a king battle, and one of them must die.

The queen cell is a place specifically for raising queen bees.

The queen cells of honey bees that appear during natural swarming are generally located below the honeycomb, with their openings facing downward. The short-lived queen cells are generally white, and their color deepens as the days go by. The queen cells that are about to leave the hive have beeswax bitten off by worker bees on their heads.

Additional information:

Bees are flying social insects belonging to the order Hymenoptera and the family Apidae. They are 8-20 mm long, yellowish brown or dark brown, and covered with dense hairs. Their heads are almost as wide as their chests. Their antennae are knee-shaped, their compound eyes are oval, their mouthparts are chewing and sucking, and their hind legs are pollen-carrying legs. They have two pairs of membranous wings, with large forewings and small hindwings, and the front and back wings are linked by wing hooks. Their abdomens are nearly oval, with fewer hairs than the chest, and stingers at the end of the abdomen. They are called resource insects. Adult bees are about 2 to 4 cm long.

The queen bee, also called the "mother bee" or "queen bee", is a female bee with fully developed reproductive organs, developed from a fertilized egg. The queen bee has a lifespan of 3 to 5 years. Due to the gradual decline in reproductive rate, it is often artificially eliminated in the beekeeping industry. Usually there is only one queen bee in each bee colony. The body is 1/3 longer than that of a worker bee, with a longer abdomen and a stinger at the end, no wax glands under the abdomen, and wings that only cover half of the abdomen. The legs are not as strong as those of worker bees, and there are no pollen baskets on the hind legs, which serve to attract bees. In nature, a bee colony has thousands to tens of thousands of bees, consisting of a queen bee, a small number of drones, and a large number of worker bees.

It is the bedroom of the queen bee candidate.

The queen bee is no different from ordinary worker bees. Ordinary worker bees can eat royal jelly for three or four days after hatching into larvae, but if a lucky larva (also called queen larvae, royal fetuses, and queen fetuses) is arranged to live in a queen cell, it will have royal jelly for life and will become a queen bee. However, there is not only one queen cell, but eight or ten. The queen bee that emerges first will order the killing of the queen bees that have not yet emerged.

If two of them break out of their cocoons at the same time, the King's Needle will be used to engage in a battle of kings, and one of them must die.

Queen Bee Nest

2. How long does it take for bees to build a queen cell after losing their queen? How long does it take for bees to build a queen cell after getting drones?

A bee colony will generally build queen cells within 1-3 days after losing its queen, but this requires certain conditions. First, the colony must have a certain strength. If the colony is too weak, although queen cells can be built urgently, the new queen may not be able to leave the hive smoothly. Secondly, the colony must have 3-day-old worker bee larvae or fertilized eggs, otherwise it will be difficult for the colony to build queen cells. After building queen cells, there must also be abundant nectar sources around.

1. How long does it take for a bee to build a throne after losing its king?

1. Time to urgently build a queen cell

A bee colony will generally build a queen cell within 1-3 days after losing its queen. Under normal circumstances, the colony will build a queen cell very quickly. The stronger the colony, the faster it will build a queen cell. Some colonies may only need one night to build a queen cell. It is not obvious when a colony starts to build a queen cell. In most colonies, it usually takes 1-3 days to be obvious.

2. Conditions for urgent construction of queen cells

(1) There must be 3-day-old worker bee larvae or fertilized eggs in the bee colony, otherwise the colony will not be able to quickly build queen cells.

(2) The bee colony must have a certain strength. When the colony strength is too weak, even if the queen cell can be built urgently, the new queen bee may not be able to leave the hive smoothly.

(3) For a period of time after the emergency construction of queen cells, the climate must be suitable for the survival of bees and there must be abundant nectar sources.

2. How long does it take to raise the queen cell after raising the drone bees?

1. Time of raising the queen cell

Under normal circumstances, drone bees will build queen cells within 1 week after emerging from the hive. Generally, there is no absolute correlation between the emergence of drone bees and whether queen cells are formed. However, most bee colonies will breed drones on a large scale before natural swarming, because the entire development cycle of drones is longer than that of queen bees. In terms of time, the bee colony will only start to build queen cells 5-7 days after the drones emerge, to ensure that there are enough drones to mate with the new queen after she emerges from the hive.

2. Reasons why the drone queen does not appear

(1) Irregular honeycombs

Irregular bee combs can easily result in too many drone cells on the bee comb. Although the queen bee will lay more drones, she may not necessarily produce queen cells.

(2) The queen bee is too old

If the queen bee used is too old, it is easy for the queen bee to lay too many drone eggs, which will prolong the egg-laying cycle and result in the queen cells not necessarily being formed.

3. The simplest method of artificial swarming: artificial swarming can be done a few days after the queen cell is capped.

Select a strong bee colony of 6-7 frames, and place the brood, honey combs, and bees in the beehive equally into two beehives, then place the mature queen cells into the original beehive, and the old queen bee into the new beehive, and then immediately move the new beehive to a place 3km away. After moving the beehive, open the nest door, and after 30 days, move the new beehive back to the breeding farm.

1. The simplest method of artificial swarming

1. Equal Swarming

(1) Select a strong bee colony of 6-7 beehives, remove the beehive, and place two identical beehives on both sides of the original beehive (1m apart).

(2) Place the brood combs, honey combs and bees of the original bee colony evenly into two beehives, one of which contains the original queen bee, and the other contains a queen bee that is used to suppress new egg-laying or mature royal cells.

(3) After placement, the bees fly to the two beehives. If the number of bees in one beehive is small, the beehive is moved closer to the original position, or the beehive with more bees is moved slightly away from the original position.

2. Combination of natural and artificial swarming

(1) When the bee colony begins to build queen cells but the cells have not yet been capped, cut off half of the wings on one side of the old queen bee to prevent her from flying.

(2) After the queen cells are capped, find the queen bee and put her in a queen cage outside the hive entrance. Then put 60% of the bees and the old queen bee into the new beehive, while keeping one queen cell and 40% of the bees in the original bee colony.

3. Remote migration method

(1) Select a strong bee colony of 6-7 frames, and place the brood combs, honey combs, and bees in the beehive evenly into two beehives.

(2) After the bees are divided, mature queen cells are placed in the original beehive and an old queen is placed in the other beehive. They are then immediately moved to a place 3 km away and the nest door is opened.

(3) After 30 days, move the beehives back to the farm.

2. How many days after the queen cell is capped can artificial swarming be done?

1. Artificial swarming can be carried out about 6-7 days after the queen cell is capped, because the bee colony itself has a strong desire to swarm, and the new queen bee in the queen cell has reached maturity.

2. If the swarming time is too early, the new queen bee may easily die due to temperature problems. If the swarming time is too late, the bee colony may undergo natural swarming.

3. During the process of artificial swarming, it should be noted that some bee colonies with strong swarming intention may begin natural swarming when the queen cells are just capped. Some may even begin natural swarming after the old queen bee lays fertilized eggs.