Is this sign of a queen?

Beekeeping - Basics
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20170606_115047.jpg3756×2112 2.33 MB

i am a newbee and i cannot find the queen. she had a yellow dot on her head. i assume they might clean that off. i found larve but dont know if its drone or worker or if queen is in fact in hive and laying. any help is greatly appreciated

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The capped cells are worker brood. The little white glistening C-shaped thing is an uncapped larva, which is a sign that somebody was laying eggs within the last 7 or 8 days:
http://www.coloss.org/beebook/I/misc-methods/2/5/4

:wink:

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so there is a queen present then? worker brood is a sign of a queen laying right? it is new comb and hive so my brood isnt dark like established comb.

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The capped brood was definitely laid by a queen. The uncapped brood could be a queen or laying worker - you can’t tell by looking at it until it is capped.

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thanks so much for your help. i have been worrying about this for over a week now. i am breathing easier now!

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Did you see any eggs on the frames? They will be very small white specks at the bottom of the cells?

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Actually both are laid by the queen. There is not enough time between the 2 for laying works to develop.

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Don’t worry too much about seeing your queen all the time. I rarely go hunting for my queens- I just look to see if there is brood, larvae and eggs. Sometimes I can’t see the eggs- but as long as I see larvae I know the queen has been laying very recently and likely everything is going fine.

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I agree hunting for the queen every time is disruptive. The one skill you really do have to master is spotting eggs. That is much more indicative of her presence. A small white led torch is a help

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