Honey bees produce queens on three occasions: when the colony reproduces through swarming, when the colony replaces its queen through supersedure, and in emergencies when the colony loses its queen. We can make colony divisions and produce queens by setting up hive conditions for a colony to produce an emergency queen. Honey bees detect the presence of their queen by the queen substance pheromone that she secretes. This pheromone is passed through the hive by touch, unlike her other pheromones which are aromas carried in the air. The queen’s retinue of attendant workers constantly stroke the queen, gathering queen substance pheromone and passing it to nearby workers. The pheromone is passed from bee to bee throughout the hive. As long as the bees receive queen substance pheromone, the colony is content. If the queen is not present in the hive, the colony detects her loss within one hour and begins replacing her within four hours.
Beekeepers employ the loss of queen
substance pheromone to perform colony divisions known as “walk-away splits.”
They can accomplish the production of a new queen and make a colony division
using a double screen board. This simple device is a board with two screens
separated so that queen substance cannot be passed between hive brood boxes. When
placed between the brood boxes of a strong hive with bees and brood on both
sides of the screens, one half of the hive is content, and the other half feels
that it is queenless and starts producing an emergency queen from a young
worker larva. This larva is fed royal jelly throughout its development into a virgin
queen. After its emergence as an adult, the virgin queen exits the hive for her
mating flights through an entrance in the double screen board. She will begin
laying eggs in about one month from the time of starting the procedure. In
today’s photo workers return at the double screen board entrance with pollen to
feed the new queen’s brood.
--Richard
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