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Fri, 7 Jun 1996 08:02:25 -0400 |
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REGARDING RE>Secondary swarms
Laura Downey asks:
"Regarding secondary swarms, when it occurs, do the bees leave to join the
original swarm, or do they take the remaining queen with them, thereby
leaving the hive in a queenless state?"
In my experience, secondary swarms may have several virgin queens.
Occasionally all the virgin queens of a colony may leave with a secondary
swarm, leaving the colony queenless, but with queen cells still in place.
These cells may have been damaged by the virgins, so it could be
problematical whether or not they will successfully emerge, mate and lay
eggs. I have ended up with queenless hives due to this. Better to have
prevented swarming in the first place!
Ted Fischer
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