Someone please correct me if I'm wrong

[Woody Roberts]

To sum it up I recently raised 10 queens. It rained or was very cloudy every day of their mating flight window. I haven't checked one hive but all the rest made it back. 8 of them started laying. Three of them are still alive. The rest were superseded after laying 3 or 4 frames of brood.

Frames are brood covered pretty good but look like they were shot with a load of Buckshot. Of the queens that are still laying. Frames of eggs are solid. An egg in every available cell. The capped frames next to it will have 30 to 50 holes in it.

Here's where I need correcting.
I've always believed this was from inbreeding or too small a gene pool. Is this right?

[LazyBkpr]

   Is there a chance you have Hygienic bees that are removing brood with mites or chalk brood etc?

[Woody Roberts]

Since I never treat and I don't seem to have any mite problems I'd say there's a good chance my bees are hygienic.

[LazyBkpr]

Shotgun brood is a classic result of hygienic behavior. Not saying that "is" the issue but something to consider.

[apisbees]

Hygienic behavior the bees will uncap and remove the pupae that is infested with the mite. Genetics the bees will remove the larva just after the egg hatches so day 4 or 5 from being laid. mark an area of solid eggs and chedk it in 2, 3,& 4, days time and shortly after the eggs hatch some of the larva is removed Genetics. If not and it is all caped in 7 to 9 days and them some of the cells are opened it could be hygienic behavior. But it may not be mites but other diseases or pathogens also that are causing the bees to remove the larva.

[Woody Roberts]

Apis
Good info right there. The queen I was looking at tonight just started laying around 10 days ago. She's in a long Lang. You can see her progression from frame to frame. First four frames capped, one open, one eggs.
All capped is shotguned. Including the just capped.

[Jen]

Woody! Seriously? You're asking the women on this forum to correct you, a man, if YOU'RE WRONG??

   I think I'll have to take this to Live Chat !!

 

[Woody Roberts]

Jen
Being wrong is a place I'm quite familiar with. Being corrected by women is also.

[Jen]

Jen- "Being wrong is a place I'm quite familiar with. Being corrected by women is also....... 

[barry42001]

Jen...If a man is alone in the woods, and speaks, and no women is there to hear him..is he still wrong?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[Jen]

Yes unless he's doing the dishes

[riverbee]

woody,
a few variables on shotgun brood patterns(already mentioned) but i tend to think what you said, (my HO).....
inbreeding or too small a gene pool.  if the shotgun pattern doesn't improve......i would requeen, but i think you know that...

[pistolpete]

I've noticed a shot gun pattern with a couple of my young queens also.  It seems to go away after a couple of weeks.  Just a by product of getting up to full speed.   If this queen started laying 10 days ago, and you're looking at capped brood, then you're really looking at the first 4 days of her laying life.   I'd say re-evaluate in another week.

[apisbees]

Some of what Pete said, mark the frame of solid eggs and check they're progression and see how they develop. If a frame is solid eggs then larva with holes then it is a gene problem. Caped then removed Hygienic. But unless you know that the frames that are spotty now were laid with solid eggs It could be the queen laid spotty while getting into the laying process.

[Jen]

I requeened a couple of months ago, after the first two week inspection, one of my hives had a shotgun pattern, and looked a mess. Perry said give the queen more time! not only is she getting her act figured out but the bees have to work harder to get laying room for her and they have to straighten out the mess the queen came into. They Did! All is well ~