In a message dated 5/17/98 9:02:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
 
<< We must have a laying queen, albeit a very shy one because we have never
 seen her!  After a few weeks of seeing no queen we got worried, and when
 suddenly we saw lots of drone cells among a brood pattern sprinkled with
 honey cells, we got more worried.  But after several checks we still have a
 normal brood progression  of single egg standing up, then laying down, then
 little larvae, etc. and an increasing population.  The drone cells have not
 increased much. >>
 
    It sounds as if your got a poorly mated queen. She may have had a few good
eggs in her, because it sounds as if you now have a newly mated queen laying.
The hive raised their own. Look to see if there are the remnants of an
emergency cell or two.
 
   The original queen was probably the source of the drone eggs. She was
likely unable to produce many workers because she did not mate with enough
drones. The bees, recognizing her weakness, immediatedly superceded her and
got a good one this time. Look at your queen. New queens are very light
colored and quite fuzzy. After a couple weeks their exoskeleton darkens. The
original was likely killed, or just dried up and died.
 
   Despite the setback, you are off and running now. Good luck.
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm