Dr. Hoffman wrote years ago that African bees might have laying workers that
produce queens. That idea appears to have been dropped, however. More recent
information may shed light on why:

> AHB colonies often construct a single queen cell on a honey frame, particularly in populous colonies. Beekeepers might also see workers with shiny black abdomens that look like small virgin queens.

> Dr. Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman of the USDA Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson has recently demonstrated that these shiny black bees are "intermorphs" that have characteristics of both workers and queens.

> How and why intermorphs are reared in colonies remains unclear, but they are signs that AHB colonies are in the area.

source:
The African Honey Bee: A Case Study Of A Biological Invasion
by Stan Schneider, Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman, Deborah Smith, David Tarpy

pb

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