I converted over an existing hive (<1 year old queen) of Italians to ANP comb
and started a new hive with ANP a month or so ago. Both queens are actively
laying eggs and workers are bringing in pollen & nectar.
One noticeable difference is that the existing hive with the 10 month old queen
seems to have many more (what I assume are) drone cells. The majority of the
brood cells are fairly flat while the "drone" cells have a distinct domed cap.
The older hive has aprx. 50% of the capped brood cells as drones while the
newer hive is more like 10%
* Am I correct in my assumption that these are drone cells?
* Should I consider replacing the older queen as she is kicking out a high
percentage of non-worker bees?
* Is it usual for a <1 year old queen to start laying so many non-worker bees?
Thanks in advance for the response.
jeff young - 2 hives in a Central MA backyard
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