I’m new to beekeeping and to this forum - from Withcott, near Toowoomba, Queensland. I got my first bees two weeks ago and did my first inspection yesterday. The first frame I looked at (second from outer frame) had quite a few capped drone cells plus two larger cells towards the middle of the frame. I didn’t know what to make of them. I thought they might be queen cells but didn’t seem large enough based on pictures I’ve seen and they protruded rather than drooped - but they also seemed too big for anything else.
I’ve sought input from a couple of mentors based on these same photos - of course photos don’t fully capture what something really looks like - and had a couple of contrasting suggestions - supersedure queen cells versus large drone cells.
From the forum I felt the cells looked most like those from @rinsemesocksAre these queen cells? that were ided as supersedure queen cells - curious what the outcome was with those cells and hive.
At risk of getting even more diverse opinions I’m keen to hear what others think!
Plus recommendations on what to do - my gut instinct being nothing as I respect the colony likely knows what it is doing but I don’t want to be neglectful either.
Other background on the hive - established this September with a new queen from one of the previous owner’s other hives queen cell. Lovely docile bees. Plenty of capped brood on other frames, quite a lot of larger larvae, maybe fewer smaller larvae/eggs or maybe I missed some thinking they were empty cells.
I welcome any thoughts, comments and further questions.
They look to be supersedure cells to me, however judging by the size, I’d guess that they are empty. Most of that bulk looks to be wax with a small queen cup pointing down. It looks like we are viewing them from the top. Bees build them even though they have no intention of using them at the time. When we see them extended down, it’s time to look in to see if there’s anything in them.
Thanks @JeffH for the welcome and the insights. That’s very reassuring. And yes you are right - the view in the photos is basically above albeit on a bit of an angle. Do you think it’s worth taking another look in a few days or better to leave to their own devices (if I don’t check within a few days the next opportunity will be ~ 5th Jan).
And re your comment about no intention of using them - that makes me really curious given the more generally supe-organised nature of the hive - are there any schools of thought re why they’d do something that appears to have no immediate purpose?
You’re welcome Tamsin. I wouldn’t worry about them. Even though the bees build them with no intention of using them at the time, they will use them if they feel the need to supersede the queen at some point later on.
I notice that when bees build new comb, they will sometimes include one, which could be more efficient in some way. Everything bees do I believe is with efficiency in mind.
A classic example of efficiency is when a bee heads out to a known nectar source, she only takes enough fuel to get there. It would be inefficient for a bee to take more fuel, because it would reduce the payload she will return with.
I couldn’t resist having another quick look - before leaving my bees in peace for 3 weeks. It looks to me like “they” have emerged. The photos were taken with frame upside down so the holes are a the bottom. Now I’m looking at the photo I think the bee above the upper cell in the close up photo looks a bit different - bigger, paler, longer thorax - but it didn’t stand out to me at the time.
Keen to hear others’ thoughts given this update. Thanks
That larger bee is a drone. Those cells haven’t had queens emerge from them. They normally look much longer, skinnier & resemble an empty bullet shell at the opening with ragged edges.
Thanks @JeffH - that’s very helpful and good to hear. That drone is much paler than the others I’ve observed in the colony - I’ll try to be more observant re variability next time I inspect the hive.
Young drones (and workers) are often pale, because they have more hairs. The hairs are yellow. When they wear off over time, the bee gets darker because it can’t grow any more.
Thanks @Dawn_SD. That’s really interesting. I’d noticed quite a lot of colour variation among the workers but had assumed the differences were between individuals rather than change over time. So much to learn
There can be some variation among worker bees from genetics. After all, the queen does mate with up to 50 drones! However, drones only get genes from the queen, so most of the colour variation that you see in them is likely to be due to hair loss
Your photos actually show lots of young bees very nicely. If you look at the thorax of each bee, the younger ones are covered in lots of yellow “fuzz” on their thorax. That includes the big drone by the queen cups. Very cute, really - like baby hair for bees!
Hi Tasmin, Dawn and Jeff, I was wondering if I might also be able to share a photo to see what you think about the health of my hive?
Background… @JeffH I purchased some bees off you maybe 8-9 months ago and haven’t harvest any honey yet. We have had one swarm about 6 months ago after we may have accidentally killed the queen.
I recently inspected the hive and found a few beetles in the super and in the pest management tray found both hive beetles and wax moth. So I have now setup traps. I could not see signs of pests in the brood box butttt I don’t understand what I am looking at… do these look like healthy frames to you? I have shaked off the bees and captured an image below- making sure no queen was among them. Sometimes I also forget to change the oil and it goes mouldy and yuk. Do you think that could be also affecting the hive?
Hi Brook, great to hear from you, welcome to the forum & happy new year.
It’s hard to tell from that photo, on account of the camera angle. I see a recently emerged worker, so therefore you have a queen laying fertile eggs.
If you can get a closer look, and directly onto the brood would be good, especially if you find a frame with a lot of sealed brood. We can generally see through a layer of bees, so no need to shake them off unless you think there is too many to see through.
I always suggest that Flow owners check the tray once a fortnight.
However, drones only get genes from the queen, so most of the colour variation that you see in them is likely to be due to hair loss 
