At 01:12 AM 2/10/2004, you wrote:
>I had not heard of this before, is it true? Are there any clarifying
>pictures around
>that show this?

Sort of.  Queens do release themselves as workers do.  But they don't
eat/chew up the whole cap like the workers do, rather they chew around the
cap often leaving a circular lid attached to the cell.  I've observed this
many times.  Once when installing ripe cells pulled a bit later than I
should have due to weather, several were actively chewing their way out,
and one managed to free itself in the box.  Unfortunately I don't have
pictures (perhaps I'll take some this year).  I did find one on the web,
but of a less than typical case in my
experience.  http://www.three-peaks.net/bee_life.htm

-Tim

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