Laying Worker Honey Bees

Workers will develop into laying workers in the presence of a failing queen or in a queen less colony. The laying worker will lay two or more eggs in a cell attaching the eggs onto the walls near the top of the cell. (check colonies thoroughly for the queen when laying worker egg laying activity is observed.)

The solutions to the problem of a colony with laying workers are optional. The entire colony can be killed, the equipment cleaned and another colony installed. The colony may be divided and distributed into numerous other colonies by exchanging frames of bees for frames of bees and brood. Introduce a new caged queen into the colony formed in the exchange of brood and bees from other colonies.

The laying worker colony will generally not accept a new queen. Check the brood combs for pollen stores and feed a pollen substitute if stores are low.