Читать книгу Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner - Группа авторов - Страница 99

A colony of bees is theoretically immortal, but not so its queen. In the natural state, with colonies living in tree cavities, the queen is replaced at least once a year (due to swarming). And prior to varroa it was not uncommon for a relatively unmanaged hive to live for many years, also replacing its queen without help from the beekeeper.

Practical application: There are three ways in which a colony can replace its queen, each due to different circumstances:

 Supersedure – when the workers build a supersedure cell to smoothly replace a failing queen.

 Swarming – in which a colony in a crowded cavity builds swarm cells, and then divides by fission, with roughly half the workers flying off with their mother, leaving behind daughters in those cells to take her place.

 Emergency – when workers respond to the sudden loss of a queen by converting a young larva in a worker cell into an emergency queen.

There is much overlap involved in the three methods above; the vet needs to be familiar with each.