Randy Oliver <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
…So once they have the capping off, why do they leave that
>purple-eyed, healthy appearing pupa just resting there?  Has anyone marked
>any exposed pupae to see if the bees ever seal them back up?

Hi Randy,

That would be a good experiment!
With chewing out brood I see in my bees, they uncap and leave the cell 
open in the purple eyed stage.   But what is odd, is that I generally see 
either All uncapped cells on the  frame unharmed, OR chewed out.  I don’t 
see some pupa chewed and some not.  This makes me think that chewing 
process is cued separately, maybe by acclimation of mite feces or 
something.  That chewing out seems to occure all at once, there may be 
somting occurring around the 16 or 17 day of the honeybee pupa 
metamorphous to trigger chewing.   

Joe Waggle 
Ecologicalbeekeeping.com 
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' 
Feral Bee Project:
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeralBeeProject/ 

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