Beekeeping - How to?

Do bees leave the hive if the queen dies?

The queen bee is the only female in a honey bee colony who lays eggs. As such, she plays a vital role in replenishing the bee colony. The continual raising of brood is essential for the maintenance of the bee population. While she lives for two or three years, the drones die after mating, and workers live less than two months. She can lay up to 2500 eggs in a single day, mainly in peak seasons. Although she has a long life span, she may die unexpectedly or get killed by the worker bees if she is unproductive. Most causes of her sudden death are predator attack, disease, or beekeeping error. 

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Do bees leave the hive if the queen dies?

When a queen dies, the workers act swiftly to raise another queen in the shortest time possible (emergency queen rearing). They don’t leave their hive. The workers look for eggs or larvae less than three days old and put them in queen cells. They raise  10-20 queens at a go. 

A fertilized egg takes three days to hatch. The nurse bees feed the larvae exclusively with royal jelly until they pupate. This takes place after six days of rapid growth. After about eight days, queens start to emerge. The first queen to emerge kills all other developing queens to be left alone. 

If two queens emerge simultaneously, they fight to the death until the smart ones win. She takes some days in the hive to mature before going for her nuptials, where he mates with drones in a drone congregation area. She returns to the hive and starts laying eggs. The whole process takes about  29 days. 

What happens if the colony does not succeed in replacing a queen?

In some cases, the workers are unsuccessful in raising a new queen. Predators may also attack her during her mating flight. After such a period of time, there are usually no eggs or larvae to raise a new queen.  In such a case, a beekeeper should intervene and introduce a new queen to the colony. A queenless hive does not survive for a sustained period. 

The absence of her pheromones makes the bees aggressive. The Queens pheromones usually suppress the worker bee’s ovaries and prevent them from laying eggs. They may begin to lay eggs but, unfortunately, result in drones since they are not fertilized. The number of productive bees in a hive decreases since the drones cannot work, forage, or make honey.  Food reserves diminish, and the colony becomes stressed and vulnerable to pests and diseases. It eventually disappears. Only a beekeeper can save such a hive. 

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Can a Queen bee survive on her own?

A queen bee cannot survive on her own since she cannot take care of herself. She depends on the worker’s bees to feed and groom her.  Her only focus is laying eggs for the colony and spends most of the time laying eggs in the brood section located at the bottom of the hive. Without their care, she will definitely die. She also needs drones to mate with her. The worker bees digest and  feed her from their mouth( mouth to mouth). On her own,`she can only survive for 1-2 days only. 

Reasons For Unexpected Queen Loss

There are several reasons why a hive might unexpectedly lose its queen. One common reason is old age, as queens typically have a lifespan of around one to two years. Sometimes, a queen may become injured or weakened due to mishandling during hive inspections or beekeeping practices. Additionally, diseases such as queen loss syndrome or viral infections can also lead to the premature death of the queen. Another factor is the swarming process, where the queen may leave the hive with a portion of the worker bees to establish a new colony, leaving behind the old hive queenless. Understanding these potential causes can help beekeepers take preventive measures to maintain the health and stability of their hives.

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