On Thu, 20 Feb 1997 11:54:30 -0500 "<Larry Connor>" <[log in to unmask]> writes: >For those of you who have drone-filled colonies in February, check the >queen's spermatheca. If you don't know how to do this, find someone >who does. >Perhaps Dave Knox at Beltsville Bee Lab will check a few. >I last saw large scale drone production in winter during the winter >after our >last bad eastern U.S. winter (77-78). Tens of thousands of queens were >producing drones. Upon checking, queens had a shortage of sperm in the >spermathecae. >Several people trace the matter back to the conditions under which the >queens >were mated in the South during the cold winter. There were drones in >colonies >at the time of mating, but either they were not producing much sperm, >a >reflection of pollen shortage, or their flight was restricted. Since >brood >in worker cells, and spermatheca checks. >Oh yes, removing the spermatheca does kill the queen. >Larry Connor >Wicwas Press -- [log in to unmask] >(Ran former Dadant Starline/Midnite program from 1976-1980). Hi Larry, Wish I had read this a few days ago. I didn't do much brood analyzing the last few days The hive were very populous and plenty of stores in all but a couple of cases. Saw some drones but don't know if they were this years hatch. Will certainly be more attuned to this the net time (warm spell) I go into some more hives. Regards, > Alden Marshall B-Line Apiaries Hudson, NH 03051 [log in to unmask] tel. 603-883-6764