The bees make a new queen, or queens by feeding some cells differently, but a colony can only have one queen so the first new queen to emerge tries to kill all the others and take over the hive. Usually the old queen manages to escape with around half of the workers.
Was the double swarm 2 hives swarming at the same time or did 2 queens manage to escape from one hive each with their own retinue?
I've only ever seen a large scouting party, never the swarm - brilliant having 2 at the same time!
Comisserations to those allergic to bee stings who can't share our appreciation!
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The bees make a new queen, or queens by feeding some cells differently, but a colony can only have one queen so the first new queen to emerge tries to kill all the others and take over the hive. Usually the old queen manages to escape with around half of the workers.
Was the double swarm 2 hives swarming at the same time or did 2 queens manage to escape from one hive each with their own retinue?
I've only ever seen a large scouting party, never the swarm - brilliant having 2 at the same time!
Comisserations to those allergic to bee stings who can't share our appreciation!