Tinder bees: fix and how to find such a queen in a hive, what to do

The concept of "tinder" includes a bee family, and a separate insect, and an unfertilized uterus. However, these terms are closely related. The family turns into a tinder bee if the tasks of the queen are performed by a tinder bee. At the same time, an individual bee can appear in a colony only if a full-fledged female has been lost. Correction of tinder bees can be done in different ways.

Who are the tinders?

If the queen died in the colony, after a while the bees begin to feed on royal jelly. Since it contains hormones that cause egg-laying, individual bees are reborn.

The common specimen is an underdeveloped female that is unable to lay eggs. However, insects stimulated by royal jelly develop ovipositors. Their number can reach 12.

At the same time, the female that lays eggs does not have sperm or sperm in it. Such eggs contain a haploid set of chromosomes, and therefore drones are born from them. Such individuals are not useful in terms of gathering supplies and the subsequent survival of the family.

The already existing population of working individuals will not be able to work for everyone. With the advent of winter, such a colony will die of starvation. A family without a queen, which includes a reborn working individual, is often called a tinder.

Sometimes a colony turns into a tinder, even if there is a full-fledged female. This means that the queen is too old and cannot lay eggs normally. In any case, the appearance of drone inoculation is considered a reason to study the colony.

What does it look like and how to identify it?

It is possible to find a tinder in the hive by the so-called humpback sowing. After that, you need to establish the reasons for its occurrence. The formation of such a family may be due to the presence of an unfertilized uterus. The queen has a special appearance, and therefore it is not very difficult to find her.

If there is no queen in the tinder family, and ordinary bees perform its functions, it can be quite difficult to identify pests. It is important to keep an eye on the bees. Several individuals are always head to the uterus.

You can get rid of tinder in a simpler way, without even detecting it. Moreover, there can be several such bees in the hive. The swarm must be collected, carried away and shaken to the ground. Workers will return to the hive, and tinders will get lost.

Reasons for formation

There are several factors in the formation of a tinder family. Sometimes there is a situation when the uterus begins to worm and lay exclusively unfertilized eggs, from which drones appear. The following factors lead to this:

• the uterus was not fertilized - for example, due to adverse weather;
• the female grew old;
• womb has insufficient drone sperm;
• drones poorly impregnated the queen;
• The uterus was inseminated incorrectly - in this case, sperm reserves run out earlier than required, and the uterus begins to lay unfertilized eggs.

Also, the disappearance of the uterus can be the reason for the formation of a tinder family. The following factors lead to this:

• the queen flew out to mate with the drones and got caught in the rain or was eaten by a bird;
• the queen was planted by a beekeeper, but the bees did not accept her and killed;
• bees were attacked by wasps and killed the queen;
• hive subjected to bee theft, resulting in the death of the queen.

How to fix a tinder family

It is permissible to use different methods to correct a tinder family. For this purpose, a starvation diet, an insulator, a basement are suitable.

Starvation Diet

To use this method, individuals from a tinder family need to be chickened out on a shield placed in front of the hive. It is recommended to do this at 3-6 pm. The house needs to be emptied and only an empty frame needs to be placed inside. At 9 o'clock after the return of insects to the house, the notch should be closed and the inhabitants of the hive should be left in captivity.

After 2 days, it is recommended to return the house to its place, shake the bees out of it onto a sheet of plywood. It is necessary to install frames filled with honey and dry land in the hive. To the bees, it is recommended to release the uterus, spraying it with honey or sugar syrup. After 3 days, it is worth adding 2 frames with sealed brood. Most often, this method helps to fix a troubled family.

In the basement

In this case, insects in the evening should be shaken off in a well-ventilated box and placed in the basement. After 2 days they need to be returned to the hive. There, in advance, you need to place 3 empty frames, 2 frames with honey and a cage with a queen.

In isolation

In the center of the hive you need to install an insulator. It is recommended to plant a queen bee in it, put a frame with food and brood.After the release of all the bees from the brood and the completion of the sowing of the entire frame of insects by the queen, it is required to move to the hive. This needs to be done with frames. It is recommended to close the hive for 5 days. As a result, a normal family will be formed.

The easiest method

This method is suitable only for a weak family, which occupies a maximum of 5 streets. In this case, the hive needs to be taken out of the apiary, shake out the bees, and then remove it. Insects will scatter and settle down with other families.

How to prevent the problem?

To avoid such a problem, it is recommended to take timely action:

1. It is important to prevent queenless families from appearing in the apiary. Replacing the queens is required to be carried out exclusively by a quiet shift.
2. If there is a family without a queen, it is required to control its exit from the mother liquor on the 16th day. After 10 days, it is important to check if she is fertile.
3. In a queenless family, you can install a frame with a one-day sowing from another family once a week. This will keep her from becoming a tinder.
4. You can buy special preparations that release the smell of the uterus in the store and install them in queenless families.

The appearance of tinder bees is considered a serious problem that leads to the appearance of drones. As a result, the family becomes weaker and may die. To deal with this problem, it is permissible to use different methods.

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