Queen Bee Mystery

First Hive in 2021 with feeder box (2021)

My first two hives were Saskatraz bees. What first drew me to this breed is its increased resistance to varroa mites, a major pest in beekeeping. Varroa mites can destroy a colony, so having a bee that is naturally resistant can reduce the need for chemical treatment and improve colony survival. These bees are also known for their disease resistance and general adaptability, as well as their honey production.

But, despite their reputation for gentleness, the Saskatraz bees I worked with displayed aggressive behavior, stinging people in their proximity hours after hive inspections. They were also vengeful, following me around after inspections and forcing me to wait in my bee suit until they lost interest. These issues posed a challenge for keeping the bees in a confined backyard space.

Common experience after an inspection.

At the end of 2021 I moved from Oakland, CA to Antioch, CA to be closer to my partner's new job. Unfortunately, after that winter my hive disappeared in a swarm at the beginning of 2022. 

I got a second colony of Saskatraz bees that spring as a replacement. This colony showed similar temperament issues, showing aggression towards anyone crossing their flight path. That summer the bees had a massive population boom with lots of growth to the hive, followed by a heat wave with temperatures too high for plants to produce nectar. I think a lot of bees died in the heat wave, and the lower population suddenly couldn't keep up with the extra space in the hive. I was extracting one of the flow hive frames and there was wax moth larva in the honey. (I had to throw that honey out) It was strange because there was no other obvious signs of wax moths, like webbing or damage to the comb.

That year, I was in the middle of an intense graduate program. That, combined with the previously mentioned aggression after inspections, made it difficult to keep up with these issues and properly treat the hive. The colony unfortunately succumbed to issues from the wax moths.

The new hive. (2024/5/12)

But, now that my graduate school program is over, I am getting back into beekeeping. This year I am trying Italian honey bees, well-known for their calm and gentle demeanor. I thought this might be a much better choice for bees in a populated area.

I've heard saskatraz bees aren't good for a beginner, and I'm beginning to understand why. The Italian bees are gentle as a kitten so far, and they calm down incredibly quickly after a hive inspection. They've built out comb pretty quickly so far as well.

The new hive was installed a little over a month ago, and they are already ready for a new box expansion. I was also intermittently feeding a 1:1 sugar syrup formula, which is meant to sustain a new colony and encourage wax production. (The 1:1 ratio refers to the equal proportion of sugar to water in the solution.)

However, during last week's inspection a problem revealed itself. 

(2024/5/18) Honey storage cells- uniform in size, the caps are typically lighter in color, and flat or slightly concave.

 

 Observations from last week's inspection: 6/8 of the frames have fully drawn out comb, 2/8 have partially drawn comb. There is plenty of nectar, some capped honey, some capped worker bee cells (but no where near as many as expected), a spattering of drone cells, a little bit of pollen (it's too early for much pollen anyway). 

I also saw some newly emerged worker bees. They are identifiable because they are light in color, lacking the pigmentation of older bees. Worker bees emerge about 21 days after their egg was laid (3 days as an egg + 6 days as a larva + 12 days as a pupa) meaning they might have been laid April 21 at the latest. I only picked up this new colony on the 9th, so their eggs may have been laid about 12 days after the colony was installed in the new hive. 

But, the big thing was that I didn't see any new eggs, and there was no sign of the queen. 

At the time, I didn't think too much about it. Sometimes eggs can be difficult to see, and sometimes the queen can be hard to find.

(2021/5/9) My first hive three years ago. Frame is mostly worker cells, with a little bit of capped honey at the top. The entire back of this frame was filled with capped worker brood.

(2024/5/18) Typical frame from this inspection. Some honey, and a smattering of worker cells. But, no where near as many worker cells as my hive three years ago.

Could the queen have died? There are some possible reasons for this: she could have a disease or have been exposed to pesticide, she could have absconded, the colony may have decided to replace her, or I could have accidentally crushed her or accidentally removed her. A missing queen disrupts the balance in the hive and can lead to a cascade of negative effects that ultimately jeopardize the colony's survival.

I was a little worried so I decided to do another inspection today.  I usually don't inspect the hive two weeks in a row, because the intrusion can be distressing to the bees, but I had to investigate.

The hive gives some clues. I checked the progress of the hive by observing the different types of capped cells in the hive. Worker brood caps are flat or slightly domed, smooth and brownish. Drone brood caps are domed and prominent- drone bees are larger than worker bees so their cells extend a bit further. Honey caps are slightly concave, white or yellowish. Queen caps are elongated and peanut shaped, hanging vertically in the hive.

A significant presence of drone cells can be a sign of a failing queen. Drones are male bees whose primary role is to mate with virgin queens from other colonies, but unlike workers do not engage in tasks like foraging or nursing brood. The queen controls the balance between workers and drones. When a queen is failing (due to age, illness, or genetic issues,) she may produce fewer worker brood and instead lay an excess of drone eggs. Worker bees can kill and replace a failing queen.

(2024/5/11) The frame is upside down in this photo. The three lumps are queen cells. The capped cells just below them are worker cells.

A frame from last week's inspection with several queen cells (the hanging, elongated shapes.) These are special cells constructed by worker bees to grow more queens. Swarm cells are usually built because of crowding or congestion in the hive, they are often built at the edges or bottom of the frame. (Swarming is a way a colony can reproduce, by splitting and sending some of the colony to a new location.) 

Another type of queen cells is called Supersedure cells: queen cells constructed to replace an aging or failing queen, typically located in the center of a hive.

(2024/5/18) Follow-up on the queen cells.

The above photo is the frame from today's inspection. The first thing is that between today and last week, the worker cells all hatched, with no new worker cells to replace them.

But more importantly: it looks like a new queen may have been born. The center cell looks destroyed, and the cell on the right looks chewed open. (When a new queen is born, she typically engages in "queen elimination," where she destroys the other queens to ensure her own dominance.)

It typically takes about 16 days from the time of the egg being laid for a new queen to hatch. 

Day 0-5: Queen matures inside the hive.

Day 5-7: Queen takes orientation flights. This is to help her learn the location of the hive and prepare for longer flights.

Day 7-10: Queen takes mating flights. During these flights, she mates with multiple drones (around 10-20) and stores the sperm in her spermatheca.

Day 10-14: Queen returns and prepares for egg laying.

Day 14-21: Queen starts laying eggs.

If a queen hatched at the start of the week, she might be taking orientation flights. If she hatched towards the end of the week, she might still be maturing inside the hive, and I just didn't notice her.

These are the questions I have right now:
1. Did the old queen die? The absence of eggs and larvae today is a strong indication, as are the presence of queen cells.
2. Was there a problem with the queen that encouraged the bees to replace her? The brood patterns didn't look spotty or irregular, and there wasn't an abundance of drone cells, both signs of an unhealthy queen. But, there was fewer worker cells compared to my past colonies, which could be a sign of a failing queen.
3. Did the workers create new queen cells as a way of replacing the dead queen, or are they planning to swarm? Swarming indicates a healthy, thriving colony. I think my colony is too new to be concerned with this. If the workers sensed the old queen's death or failure, they would create emergency cells to quickly raise a new queen.
4. Will the new queen be successful in her orientation flight? This depends on a few factors. Strong winds and predators could be a risk. There may not be a sufficient number of drones for mating.

I've decided to just order a new queen as a way to mitigate the risks. In that case, I would need to identify and destroy the old queen (if she's still there), and any queen cells. 

New queens come in small cages, with a few attendant bees and a candy plug. The attendants gradually release the queen by eating through the candy. During this time, the bees get used to the new queen's pheromones. If they've accepted her, she can begin laying new eggs. 

My only hope is that the next generation will have as sweet of a temperament as this current batch.