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I'm a huge fan of ants, bees, and wasps, but I have never kept bees, only ants. There is something I don't understand. Is there any rational advantage to keepi

by k_sze 12y ago

I'm a huge fan of ants, bees, and wasps, but I have never kept bees, only ants. There is something I don't understand. Is there any rational advantage to keeping the beehive alive between the two queens, especially since the new queen is probably only remotely related in terms of genealogy? Is it just so the production of honey, propolis, etc remains uninterrupted? What happens if you let a beehive completely die and then put in a new queen? Would the beehive become too filthy for the new colony to develop easily? Or does the author's wish to keep the beehive alive only stem from emotional attachment?

Qworg 12y ago
Keeping the hive alive is actually the most natural thing to do. While the bees won't carry the same genetics, they will support the queen while she lays. This is crucial, because a mated queen cannot truly defend herself. The new queen an immediately get to work if bees remain. The hive won't be too "dirty" - bees are remarkably fastidious. The queen just won't survive/thrive without bees. The best way to think about it is that while the queen is the center Of the hive, she is just one part of the whole organism. The bees will even kill her off if she stops producing and raise another queen.