Last spring we discussed at length whether bees would move eggs to queen
cups.

Last week I had the pleasure of being visited by Samuel Ramsey (of varroa
feeds on fat bodies fame).  While looking at my queenrearing operation, my
technician found an egg in a natural queen cup--on a brood frame that had
been moved above an excluder a few days before.
The egg was not fully upright, and did not appear to have been laid in the
cell by a queen.

Sammy and I then inspected the frames, and found no other signs of
egglaying, by either a queen or laying worker.  We did not find a queen by
visual inspection, and then carefully shook all the bees in the box through
an excluder, not finding any queen.  I took photos of the egg undisturbed
in the cell.

The next day, my technician pointed out a similar cell cup in another cell
builder hive, this time with the egg upright.  Again, there were no other
eggs to be found on the frames in the box (again above an excluder).
Again, no queen in the box.  I again took photos.

I make no claims, only observations.

-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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