10-18-2021 Planning Commission Packet

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Combining colonies with newspaper There is a simple way to combine a queenless and queenright colony together: newspaper. You can remove • any queen cells from the queenless colony, and combine two colonies together, resulting in one colony rather than two. Newspaper acts as a barrier between the two colonies to let the workers become accustomed to each other's scent before being able to intermix. This reduces aggression between the two colonies. Before combining, make absolutely sure that the queenless colony did not become weakened due to disease. If you are unsure, do not combine the colonies or you could lose both. To combine using newspaper, remove the cover and inner cover of the queenright colony and place a sheet of newspaper directly on top of the frames, such that it covers the entire top of the colony. Use your hive tool to make three small slits (so small a bee can not go through) in the newspaper in the middle of the box. Place the deep box containing the queenless colony on top of the newspaper, being careful that the newspaper doesn't shift or tear. Place the inner cover and cover over the top deep box. Make sure that the queenless deep box has an uncorked opening, so that the bees inside do not suffocate. The bees will slowly chew through the newspaper and mingle. Do not disturb the colony for 5 days, then perform an inspection. Laying workers Laying workers are found in a "hopelessly queenless" colony; that is, one with no queen and no young larvae from which the workers can rear a new queen. Free from the pheromone influence of the queen, the residual ovaries in some workers begin to develop eggs. These eggs are unfertilized and will develop into drones. Laying workers often lay multiple eggs in a single cell, and, because they have shorter abdomens, they often lay eggs on the cell walls instead of on the bottom of a cell like a queen would (Figure 56). Laying workers take on queen aires; they emit some queen pheromones and will kill a real queen if introduced into the colony as they perceive a real queen as a rival. It is sometimes possible, though extremely difficult, to requeen a laying0 worker colony. Our best advice is to let the worker-laid drones try to send their genes into the next generation. Biologically-speaking workers start laying eggs in a "hopelessly queenless colony" as a last-ditch effort to perpetuate their genes. Eventually, the colony will die off and the combs can be reused. Figure 56. Eggs laid by a queen look like little rice grains stuck to the bottom of the cell(left, photo by Judy Griesedieck), and multiple eggs in single cells laid by laying workers(right). :,11: IV lip ,i,441r,,,,,,,,, , ,., y sie Beekeeping in Northern Climates 78