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Queen Cell Choose Your Own Adventure Chart

How It Works:

Sometimes a queen cell in a hive is a warning that something is going to happen in your hive, sometimes it means something bad has already happened, and sometimes it means nothing at all (I can them practice queen cells :). That's why you need a choose your own adventure chart.

With this chart, you follow the path by answering the questions according to what you see in your hive. 

Each answer will tell you the next step you need to take. By the end of the chart, you will figure out whether the queen cell is viable, if the hive has a queen, what to do next and what to plan for in the coming weeks.

This chart is the next best thing to talking to an experienced beekeeper!

Why Care if Your Bees Have a Queen Cell?

A hive that does not have a queen bee will, eventually, collapse if they can not successfully make one in time.

Decreases Honey Production

A queen cell is almost always in a beehive because the bees are going to swarm, swarmed already or their queen died. All three of these situations will lead to your hive decreasing in population and in hone production. If you would like to harvest as much honey as possible from your honey bees, then you will want to take the steps recommended in the Queen Cell chart to help the bees bounce back from their queenless state or prevent the queen from leaving altogether.

Bees Are Depressed without a Queen

The queen bee releases a pheromone. This pheromone lets the worker bees i the hive know that she is present and healthy. This pheromone also encourages the worker bees to be productive. A hive without a healthy, laying queen bee has been known to be less productive. You can read more about this fascinating fact in this study

Don't Annoy the Neighbors

Bees often make a queen cell when they are getting ready to swarm. Although not all beekeepers like to prevent their hives from swarming, if you live in a residential area, you will want to prevent swarming as much as possible, so you do not aggravate the neighbors.

Also, when a hive swarms, the queen bee goes with them, leaving your honeybees with no queen. Although, your colony might make their own queen, there is approximately a 30% chance the new queen will not successfully mate and return to the hive safe and able to lay eggs. 

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