Long Live The Queen Bee- Queenless Behive Behavior

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 A queen is important to the structure of the hive as she is supposed to be the only reproductive female in the hive.

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What Happens If A Hive Loses Its Queen?

Sometimes queen bees pass away. Virgin queens must make mating flights, and occasionally they don't return.

A Hopelessly Queenless Hive

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Because a worker is unable to mate, the eggs she lays will be drone eggs. 

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The bees tend to be a bit skittish and unsettled, and they lack the normal social cohesion we see in a hive.

Queenless Hive Behavior

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Queenless Hive Symptoms

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Early Stages: No Eggs

There may be some capped brood, but an inspection of the brood frames will show a little capped brood

Advanced Stages: Lots Of Messy Eggs

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They tend to just lay eggs all over, and the bottom of a cell can look like a bowl of rice there are so many eggs laid there.

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What Happens If Rearing An Emergency Queen Is Not Possible?

The hive is basically up the creek without a paddle and is a hopelessly queenless hive.

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ADVICE

You will see that a hive can be queenless for a short period of time before changes occur in the hive. 

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