Two emergency queen cells.

Queenlessness can occur in many ways, but once a colony becomes queenless the reaction of the colony is predictable. The colony will become agitated and most of the activities of the hive are disrupted. When the beekeeper opens the hive, many bees will fan, much like when you see scenting bees (secretion of Nasonov pheromone and its dispersion by wing fanning). There may also be a loud roar from the bees. Usually within a few hours of being queenless, the bees will begin to construct emergency queen cells from existing cells containing worker larvae less than four days old. Nurse bees will supply the cell with large amounts of royal jelly to divert the development of the worker larva into a queen.

Multiple worker eggs within cells.

Usually the queen cell is constructed in time to permit requeening. If not, the colony becomes hopelessly queenless and will eventually die unless if a new queen is added to rejuvenate the colony. During the time between queenlessness and complete colony collapse, workers will begin to lay eggs inside the cells. At first glance one would think there is a queen in the colony, but with a closer look, it is obviously laying workers. Workers have the ability to lay unfertilized eggs when their ovaries are stimulated. Worker ovary development is normally suppressed by the queen's presence, but if the queen is killed or if she is old and not roducing adequate amounts of pheromone then the workers begin to produce queen cells or lay eggs. Differences between worker and queen eggs are undetectable to the naked eye. Laying workers are usually revealed by the manner in which they deposit their eggs. A queen will lay a single egg cemented to the base of the cell in a cohesive pattern. A worker will lay numerous eggs in all areas of the cell and the pattern will be spotty. Occasionally worker bees will lay at least a few eggs in a queenright colony but this usually not a problem. Re-queening a laying worker colony can be difficult because laying workers rarely accept a new queen. Vigilance by the beekeeper and prompt queen replacement are the solutions to this problem.

Honey Bee Disorders / UGA Honey Bee Program / UGA Entomology Department