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       #Post#: 28--------------------------------------------------
       The Laying Worker(s)
   DIR By: Steve Vogel
       Date: June 26, 2019, 8:35 am
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       The Laying Worker(s)
       Unknown to most, the "Laying Worker" is generally NOT just one
       worker bee but multiple bees.  They are very difficult to find
       as they are not different size wise from the other worker bees.
       
       The Cause
       The cause of this condition is brought about by the lack of a
       pheromone produced by open or uncapped brood.  It is NOT the
       lack of a Queen.  However, the lack of a Queen leads to a
       condition where there is no uncapped brood.
       
       What to do about it.
       Do Not re-queen the hive.  Your new Queen will be killed and
       you'll loose $30.
       What you need to do is introduce frames with open brood.  It is
       vastly important that these frames of open brood are workers and
       NOT drones.
       Open drone brood does not have the pheromone that will keep
       workers from developing ovaries thus becoming "laying workers".
       One of the best ways to save the hive is to introduce a frame
       of open worker brood every few days until the bees begin to
       raise a supersedure queen. How often you have to add brood
       depends on how old the brood is. Eggs remain eggs for three days
       and larvae are open for about 5.5 to 6 days. Since the pheromone
       is produced by larvae and not eggs, a new frame of open brood
       should be introduced at least once every five or six days if the
       larvae are very young, but more frequently if the larvae are
       old.
       Once the colony begins to raise a queen on its own, you can
       either let the bees raise it or you can introduce a queen. The
       building of supersedure cells indicates their willingness to
       accept a new queen, so it is fairly safe to introduce a queen at
       that time.
       Using the same reasoning, you can combine the laying worker
       hive with another colony that contains a queen and open brood.
       The hive should be separated by a double screen or similar
       device to keep the queen safe until the workers’ ovaries are
       fully suppressed. Allow about three weeks before removal of the
       double screen, then combine the two colonies.
       Other than suppressing the workers’ ovaries by adding frames
       of open brood, the only other thing you can do is dismantle the
       hive and shake the bees out in the vicinity of your other hives.
       If the colony has been queen-less for a long time, it may be
       small, aggressive, and hardly worth your time. In that case, you
       can just shake your equipment free of bees. Some will find a
       home in one of the other hives and some will die. But in any
       case you will be rid of the laying worker problem until the next
       time it happens.  If you have only 1 or 2 colonies, this will be
       a difficult thing to do.  Personally, I have a problem killing
       even 1 bee.  For those who have only 1 or 2 colonies, contact
       someone in your bee club and see if they would be willing to
       help you with your issue.  Those who have several colonies will
       most likely be able to help out with a frame of open brood or
       two.
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