>
>So in a typical queenright colony at this time of year there may be as many
>as half a dozen laying workers.  I think it was Aebi who wrote (although I
>don't know his source) that maybe 1% of laying workers can lay female eggs.
>So maybe something in the region of one colony in 20 will have a laying
>worker producing female eggs.
>
>That is one of several (more likely) explanations for something I found
this
>year: a sealed queen cell several inches above a good queen excluder with
no
>other brood above the QE.  The queen was in full lay below the QE.
>
>Chris


Yes, and I'm glad for that explaination too. When I saw something similar
in one of my scut hives I wondered if all those old tales were true of a
hive stealing an egg from another hive in the area. The whole concept of
thelytoky seems much more reasonable :-)