What is the average size of a DLQ?

[warts]

Or more to the point, is it easy (-ish!) to distinguish between a mated queen and a DLQ...and does a non mated queen sit somewhere in the middle? Or am I missing the point (suspect quite likely).

Thanks in advance to those 'in the know'

Sally

 

[Poly Hive]

She looks normal, she has merely run out of sperm.

The evidence is in the drone brood not the queen.

PH

 

[warts]

Thanks PH. Is this the same if it is a worker that has started to lay eggs?

Sally

 

[MuswellMetro]

Thanks PH. Is this the same if it is a worker that has started to lay eggs?

Sally

My veiw is you have two brood patterns for Drone layer Queens and a different pattern for a Drone laying worker...so here is my twopennyworth...others will of course disagree,,,we are beekeepers

Badley mated or stale virgins,,,, Random single drone cells over large areas of polished brood ,giving spot drone cells and more empty cells than drone

Wasted mated queen...sudden change to Drone with large areas of worker brood cells full of complete blocks of Drone cells but all in the polished brood area

Drone Laying Worker, , eggs everywhere, up to five in a cell of side wall, small drones and capped drone cells outside as well as in the brood area

LASI uni of sussex in a recent lecture said that in a normal hive about 5% of worker will lay eggs and that they are removed and destroyed by Nurse bees policing worker drone eggs and with a quenless colony this can excedd 25% of all workers and we only notice it becasue the nurse bees no longer police the drone worker eggs....i have not found any documents backing that up though

 

[warts]

Wow. Food for thought here, MM. Thank you for the info

Sally

 

[Poly Hive]

I would agree with all of that MM.

PH

 

[For want of a better word]

thanks.. resurrection of an old thread....

1st drone hive this year... Carniolian colony.....must be bad mating season for them as had similar a couple of years back when we had a dreadful wet summer.
now what to do with it!
temptation is to shake out the lot..into empty brood.. put beeless frames back in bb above a qe and at same time put a frame of new eggs larvae from adjacent carniolian hive ??????
tip queen and drones in the hedge.... jo crow needs a feed!!!
with petrol at £140 a liter ........

 

[Bryanthebee]

or let the drones carry on and die out and have a better gene pool in your area for future queen mating.

 

[For want of a better word]

or let the drones carry on and die out and have a better gene pool in your area for future queen mating.

not intending to raise any carniolian colonies there this year... so drones are just crow fodder
or
do you mean the DLQ syndrome is GENETICALLY TRANSFERRABLE


another strong colony to go into winter with would be nice.....
may try a frame of eggs... nothing to loose!

 

[m100]

LASI uni of sussex in a recent lecture said that in a normal hive about 5% of worker will lay eggs and that they are removed and destroyed by Nurse bees policing worker drone eggs and with a quenless colony this can excedd 25% of all workers and we only notice it becasue the nurse bees no longer police the drone worker eggs....i have not found any documents backing that up though

Sheffield University Chaline / Martin / Ratnieks 2003 study on worker policing

Worker policing persists in a hopelessly queenless honey bee colony

 

[Poly Hive]

I just dealt with one that was gettig fine transfered from nuc to hive and today all drones.

Shook them out in the middle of the apiary and if they get a house good and if not no loss.

As for the queen a lovely big lass she was too, made a wonderful squishing noise as she went...

PH

 

[For want of a better word]

As for the queen a lovely big lass she was too, made a wonderful squishing noise as she went...

Salutatory advice... so you did not pickle her in finest single malt to put in your bait hive sausage recipe?

 

[Poly Hive]

No. I use sexy used brood combs for that trick.

PH

 

[MuswellMetro]

Sheffield University Chaline / Martin / Ratnieks 2003 study on worker policing

Worker policing persists in a hopelessly queenless honey bee colony

excellent link thanks