Hi Bob & all

> I would be willing to bet serious money that we could go through a hundred
> of my hives and not find two queens together  this time of year!

You would not make any money out of me, because I would also bet that this
is the case in your hives.

> Dave said:
> . They do not go looking for a second queen.
>
> Surely you jest

No. I am dead serious, most beekeepers have been taught that there will only
be one queen in the hive, so when they find 'one' their need is satisfied.

The incredulity being raised on this list surely points to the fact that
most consider one queen to be 'normal', but you can look at this from
another angle... If multiple queens is more normal than previously though,
then colonies with only one queen are at a serious disadvantage and will
'wear out' their queens more quickly.

>  My *opinion* is that what Dave is seeing is somehow a trait particular to
> his Amm. bees or a trait enhanced somehow by his breeding program
> selection.

Chicken and egg here... Because I deal with AMM and supercedure is a trait
well established in that race, I do deliberately select from supercedure
strains and have been doing so for a long time. Whether I am selecting for
AMM characters or I am selecting purely for supercedure as a factor in
itself, is difficult to answer. Whilst it is possible that supercedure will
be exhibited more by my methods, all the other features that have been used
for selection have improved as well.

However I repeat from a previous post
***
My actual thoughts on this aspect of behaviour are changing slightly. I
previously thought that this mother/daughter situation was a feature of AMM
bees (because that is where I have seen it to be commonplace), but I am
swinging around to view it as behaviour that enhances survival of well
adapted gene sets to particular conditions that are marginal for regular
'drone assembly' mating to occur
***
I believe that long term poor weather in my locality is a much bigger reason
for this behaviour being so noticeable. Although even as far south as
Northampton in UK there are apiaries that exhibit multiple queens in large
numbers.

Best Regards & 73s, Dave Cushman... G8MZY
Beekeeping & Bee Breeding Website
Email: [log in to unmask] or  [log in to unmask]
http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman & http://www.dave-cushman.net

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::