Honey bee queen cells are special cells that are built up and used for rearing a queen. There are three types of these cells, which have certain differences.
What is a queen bee cell?
The queen bee cells are the largest cells that bees build. They are the cells where the queens are reared.
The difference between queen bee cells and other cells is that bees build them when certain events occur. It can be preparation of the colony for swarming or the need to get a new queen to replace the old one or in case of loss. In the latter case, the reason for queen bee replacement may be the death of the old queen, her illness or inability to lay eggs. The type of queen cell depends on the reason for construction.
Types of queen bee cells and their differences
There are three types of queen bee cells: swarming cells, supersedure cells and emergency cells. Bees build the first type when they are preparing for swarming. The second one is when the queen is old and her performance is reduced, so they plan to prepare a replacement for her. The third option is when a queen has disappeared for some reason and the bees urgently raise a new queen. Because if the queen disappears, the bee family is threatened with extinction.
The differences between the three varieties of queen cells are based on a number of factors:
– the shape of the cell;
– size;
– colour;
– location on the frame;
– the members of the bee family involved in the construction;
– peculiarities of egg laying;
– the value and productivity of hatching queens.
Swarming queen cells
Swarming queen cells are built when bees are about to swarm. This happens when the colony reaches a certain size where it is cramped in the existing hive space, lack of nectar in nature and other factors.
Swarming queen cells are built on the side edges of the honeycomb or at the bottom of the frame.
Bees that are more than 25 days old do the construction. At this age, the wax glands function worse, so the insects take wax from used honeycombs. This peculiarity causes the rich brown colour of swarming cells.
The outer part of the swarming cells is a lumpy hexagon – such a structure resembles a honeycomb. The inner walls are smooth and glossy.
The size of swarming cell is large. In shape they are compared to elongated acorns hanging singly from the honeycomb. It is less common to find paired cells, and some southern breeds even build them in groups.
The number of swarm cell is great. It can reach up to several dozens of pieces.
It is believed that swarming queen cell produce good, high quality bee queen, which can be used to increase the number of colonies in the apiary.
Supersedure queen bee cells
Supersedure queen bee cells are built when bees are purposefully preparing to replace a queen because she is old, sick or injured. In other words, they are not satisfied with the efficiency of her work, which reduces the strength of the colony and reduces its viability.
Supersedure queen bee cells are few: two, three, maximum four. They are usually located in the middle of the honeycomb, not at the edges like swarm cells.
The cells are of good size. They hang separately on the honeycomb, i.e. they are not grown from a separate cell.
The bees chew out spaces around the cell so that there is a passage under it.
Supersedure cells are considered to be the best, because the bees prepare and make them purposefully. Therefore, they are handled very responsibly.
Emergency queen bee cells
Emergency cells are built by bees in case of sudden loss of a queen. They are built on the basis of bee cells with larvae no older than three days.
There can be dozens of queen cells.
Emergency cells are like lying on the brood, and they are shorter, so the space of the cell itself is utilised.
To form emergency cells, the bees use the already prepared cells, only completing them. Neighbouring cells are used for expansion.
The necessary work is done by bee builders. Their wax glands are developed. The use of fresh wax determines the light colour of the queen cell – it is close to snow-white.
Emergency cells are not built immediately. At first, a construction sufficient for one larva is formed. As the larva develops and grows, the size of the cell increases. In shape, it is an elongated protrusion on a cell.
Conclusion
These are the kind of queen bee cells that exist. It is important to distinguish them from each other in order to make the right decision about what to do in case of swarming, supersedure or emergency cell detection.
