# Queen laying multiple eggs in one cell



## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

WRLCPA said:


> I was excited a few weeks ago to find the queen, in my only hive of three to get through the winter, was laying. This colony is very weak however with barley enough workers to cover one side of a deep frame. Yesterday I did an inspection and I found multiple eggs in cells. There is also capped and uncapped larva.
> 
> So my theory is that since there isn't alot of workers to clean out cells, the queen has no place to lay. I am fairly sure the eggs are from the queen as they appear to be on the bottom of the cells. Some eggs are laying down too.
> 
> ...


This could be a newly mated queen that hasn't learned the business yet.


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## Stlnifr (Sep 12, 2010)

I always though a laying worker was the one that laied double eggs in a cell.


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## Joey (Mar 19, 2015)

Stlnifr said:


> I always though a laying worker was the one that laied double eggs in a cell.


That's my initial thought as well. Sounds like a laying worker.


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## billabell (Apr 19, 2010)

Is there any capped brood? If they are all capped drones (protruding bullet like caps) it is probably laying workers or if you see a queen and still have all drone brood it may be a drone laying queen.


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## WRLCPA (May 12, 2014)

Stlnifr said:


> I always though a laying worker was the one that laied double eggs in a cell.


Sorry, I should have mentioned, the queen is a surviving queen, she was marked from last year.

This hive, I affectionately call my ****** hive because it has always been aggressive so maybe this queen hasn't been a good one from the beginning.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

WRLCPA said:


> Sorry, I should have mentioned, the queen is a surviving queen, she was marked from last year.
> 
> This hive, I affectionately call my ****** hive because it has always been aggressive so maybe this queen hasn't been a good one from the beginning.


A experienced queen would not put more than 1 egg in a cell on a regular basis.


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## Fergus (Jan 27, 2015)

What does ****** spell?


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## WRLCPA (May 12, 2014)

dsegrest said:


> A experienced queen would not put more than 1 egg in a cell on a regular basis.


This is why I am confused because she is definitely last years queen. Your suggesting I have a laying worker? If so, what are the problems associated with a laying worker and what should I do about it?

Off to research my own question!

Thanks everyone for your responses


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## NCBeekeeper (Apr 4, 2013)

Do you have capped worker brood?


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## WRLCPA (May 12, 2014)

NCBeekeeper said:


> Do you have capped worker brood?


Yes, but not much. It appears that the queen shut down most of the winter and was slow to get going. First time I noticed eggs was 2 weeks ago. Also, she is laying on the side of a frame, not in the middle.


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## gezellig (Jun 11, 2014)

If she's marked and you know she's there and you have nucs, give her a frame of capped brood from the Nuc. That way she'll have emerging brood to care for more brood and soon have open cells to lay in. As to your question of why she's doing that, I don't have an answer


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## Stlnifr (Sep 12, 2010)

Number of eggs per cell
The beekeeper looks at the honeycomb cells to see how many eggs are laid in each one. Queen bees will usually lay only a single egg to a cell, but laying workers will lay multiple eggs per cell. Multiple eggs per cell are not an absolute sign of a laying worker because when a newly mated queen begins laying, she may lay more than one egg per cell.
Egg position
Egg position in the cell is a good indicator of a laying worker. A queen bee's abdomen is noticeably longer than a worker, allowing a queen to lay an egg at the bottom of the cell. A queen bee will usually lay an egg centered in the cell. Workers cannot reach the bottom of normal depth cells, and will lay eggs on the sides of the cell or off center.


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## Rolande (Aug 23, 2010)

WRLCPA said:


> So my theory is that since there isn't alot of workers to clean out cells, the queen has no place to lay.


I reckon that you're on the right track with your theory, that and the size of the cluster holding back the manageable comb area.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

I think it would be very odd to have laying workers and a seasoned mated Queen. Perhaps she is double laying as there is such a small area being covered with bees. Laying worker brood will always be drones.


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## WRLCPA (May 12, 2014)

I expect capped brood to start emerging any day now. I first noticed eggs on April 12 so I am guessing the first eggs were laid about Apr 10th. 20 days later for emerging puts them later this week.

Maybe once they start emerging and start covering more area, she will expand her laying area!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Does this make sense?

Yes.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfallacies.htm#doubleeggs


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## roberto487 (Sep 22, 2012)

I have the same problem with a barely survived hive that I had to put in a nuc hive due to their small size. There is a queen. On inspection I see 2 and 3 eggs in one cell, never on the cell with pollen. She hasn't broken from that pattern yet. If you see eggs on cells with pollen then it is a laying worker. If you can replace the queen do it, but make sure there is a queen. Otherwise you have to do a shake out.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Here is my theory. 
The queen is trying to ramp up and wants to lay more area than what she has nurse bees to take care of. Once brood starts emerging to give her more nurse bees, the multiple eggs per cell may very well clear up. If you have sealed brood to spare in one of your other 2 hives (kinda doubtful this time of year?) then taking one frame with bees to add to your weak hive will give the weaker hive a big boost of nurse bees, and help to support the laying capabilities of the queen more quickly.


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