Robert writes:
They're all  uncapped at the same stage too, when the eyes
are light purple, and they darken  normally if the pupae
are left alone for a while, which would be unlikely if 
they were dead. 


Reply:
When just to parallel here and reading what is being
said...

When I do queen rearing with modified selection pressure in
an incubator and then take to the field for open mating in
the incubator, those queens that do not emerge within a
certain time frame from first start when doing 200-300 in
one incubator, I then candle to light and sort, which one
can do to gain speed for selection for faster development
time. But in candling to light I then take those near to
emerging and by hand open the caps with special
knife/cutter and then lay bottles down on side. Most all
have last stages of eyes developing and I know within a
certain period of time then wings will expand and the queen
will come marching out.

When I see uncapped worker and drone brood to me it is the
same. The bees have removed the cap and at purple eye
stage, if one wants to watch the pupae will continue to
develop, and I have even taken frames to observation hives,
in past back in 1997/98 when I wrote about seeing this in
ABJ and called around what I was seeing. The pupae will
continue to develop and then one by one you can see
workers/drones coming out of cells by self. Maybe not all,
but a large majority of them. 

Same parallel to what I see when rearing queens. 

Like I wrote, IMPOV it means the varroa was taken off the
head and not finding lower nor wanting to go down and get
by chewing, as life of bee not in trouble or hurting, so
why sacrifice, the bees decided to leave it alone.

Bees are very gentle, caring insects to me...for this is
why those born with deformed wings are many times left to
be on frames and still be with sisters and eat and live,
though lives are short due to circumstances they raised in.

Respectfully submitted,

Dee A. Lusby
Small Cell Commercial Beekeeper
Moyza, Arizona
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/organicbeekeepers/






 
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