> When a scut queen “loses control” of her colony in the face of
> capensis, it normally follows stress. The two classic triggers are
> long-distance migration and a heavy flow (where the brood nest
> suddenly becomes very enlarged). This is when one or more
> capensis workers start laying, and damnation of the colony ensues.
>
> On that basis, the capensis worker, or several of them, produce more
> scent that the scut queen, who is balled and killed. Logically, one
> would then conclude that a capensis queen probably has stronger
> scent than a scut queen. The latter may be academic, given that the
> capensis workers are the real problem.

I wonder if the supplemental queen pheromones that are now available cheaply in
Canada and the USA, might be a solution.  I have seen claims made to the effect
that, even in a queenright colony, the addition of pheromones can be beneficial
to colony morale.

I wonder if augmenting pheromone levels in your colonies artificially would
forestall the laying worker problem.  I also wonder if the pheromone mixture
might need to be varied a bit, since it is  a blend of substances, and may be
unique to each breed of bee.

allen

http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/Diary