> >When talking about the size
> of the queen cell, she said it didn't matter.


This is something that I've also noticed when I've compared pupal size,
Juanse.  However, it does matter when you're selling queen cells--beekeepers
like big ones.

What I have noticed is that when queen cells are raised under ideal
conditions, they are typically larger, and sometimes grotesquely large (and
may not even contain a pupa).

 Some colonies also make much better cells than others.  Queen producers
don't reuse cell finishers that don't produce good cells.

I get the largest cells during swarming season, when there is a nice nectar
flow.  After swarm season, it is more of a challenge to produce large cells.

The factor that I look for is whether a substantial proportion of cells have
excess jelly remaining in the base (visisble in clear plastic JZ's cups)
after the queen has pupated.  This tells you that the queens have been fed
to excess.

Allen said: I have seen some, too, but usually those runty emergency queens
we
recall seeing are ones raised at inopportune times by weakened hives
under stress.

Allen, this would be typical in a situation where broodright mating nucs
don't accept a cell.  The nuc simply might not contain larvae of the right
age.  In your situation with walkaways, success would depend upon whether
both boxes of the splits contained freshly hatched larvae.

Has anyone else noticed how queenless cell starters tend to eat up any eggs,
but feed larvae copiously?

Randy Oliver

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