What Are Laying Workers And How Do I Deal With Them?

[@tamismith2113]

I have a hive that I need to shake out and this answers all my questions. As a new beekeeper, I appreciate all your videos and tips

[@misterbeeman3779]

I had a laying worker I shook bees out a few feet away it fixed the problem I installed a new mated queen no issues . Doing fine .

[@michaelfike7542]

Placed another hive on top with paper in-between them and so far it worked out fine. I have another one doing it and I'm waiting to catch a swarm and place them on top the same way. Good information my have to do that soon. 👍

[@alexpaulson4597]

Nice information! I hope I don't have to put this information to use any time soon, but it's good to have in the back in the old brain!

[@scottmaschino1927]

Had 2 of them this spring. Sucked. Did a paper combine with the smaller one, and shook out the larger setting a large hive in its place. Caused some confusion and fighting, but both methods produced the desired results.

[@victor101416]

Thank you for posting this I am going to try this tomorrow with one of my colonys that has laying workers I have too used too much resources trying to get it back queen right and have given up until I sceen this thank you!

[@RS-lv2lk]

Great video. Had laying workers earlier this year and trawled KZbin to find a decent video. I failed. Luckily I found the same advice in a bee book that I had but this video is excellent.

[@LycomingWarrior]

I put a queen cell in a queen less colony three weeks ago. She hatched and returned from her flight. I inspected today and saw her in the hive. However, the hive is laying workers and now there is a new queen in the colony. What should I do? Take a frame of brood and nurse bees from another colony and start a nuc with the new queen?

[@BKBees]

You should be good. The difficult part is getting them to accept a queen. Now that you have one, give them 10 days or two weeks and the laying worker issue will be gone.

[@leem6011]

Shaking didn’t work for me nor did putting in a queen for a week in a cage nor did adding fresh milk brood (only did it once)- what did work was slamming them with a swarm... (put swarm on top of newspaper and letting eat their way through to the bottom)

[@BKBees]

Yeah, essentially combining it woth a queenright colony. If you think about it, that's what I'm doing here. They drift into the other nucs.

[@HMaktoum]

B&K Bees I think there would be a heavy fighting because other colonies would never accept them

[@corneliualdea5385]

I seen ur video about that and u shake the bees few feet from there original location and then take there box away and the bees will merge with the other hives,,, is this the best course of action right Sir ??

[@BKBees]

Yes, although you should be careful that you aren't overloading a neighbor hive with laying workers. If the neighboring hives are more populated than the laying worker colony then you'll be just fine. If the neighboring colonies are smaller than the laying worker hive I'd suggest taking the laying worker colony a few miles away and shaking them.

[@HornadySetiawan]

Thanks for the tips!

[@JasonEmery9]

Please help. Top box, deep, no queen excluder, has only honey. Bottom box has drone brood galore, with some honey but no regular worker brood, eggs, or larva. Started pulling frames and found the marked queen right where you would expect, about three or four frames in, walking around as if nothing was wrong!! Any ideas?

[@BKBees]

Drone laying queen. Install a new one.

[@JasonEmery9]

@@BKBees Thanks for the quick reply. She was definitely laying normally a month ago, with a beautiful brood pattern. Do they turn on a dime like this?

[@corneliualdea5385]

Sometimes the queen lay drone brood because she wants to swarm she lays the drone brood at the bottom of the frame and if she looks skinny she will swarm.

[@bigboybees1864]

How many of the bees become laying workers? Are we talking a few or most? Thanks

[@BKBees]

bigboy bees it starts with a few and gets progressively worse. When you shake a colony like that it usually has a great positive impact on the populations of the adjacent colonies.

[@bigboybees1864]

B&K Bees Yes it does.. I've seen it boost numbers of neighboring hives. I've just always wondered if it was a couple that decided to play queen(lol) or if most of the hive got their ovaries in,like you said, a last ditch effort to spread genetics. Thanks!!

[@erikscott8455]

Hi Brett. Great video. Can you shake bees in this method if it is a smaller colony that you want to unite with the others around it?

[@BKBees]

Yeah, that sounds like the exact time you would want to shake it. If you had a laying worker colony that was WAY bigger than the surrounding colonies, that might pose a problem, but if the LW colony is smaller, that will work.

[@lia-ry6pg]

Thanks I did have some

[@leviscarbrough6993]

Good stuff👍

[@DM-wb4jv]

If you are small back yard guy like me, i don't think you should as i just tried and they try to overrun the closest hive what a f#*kn mess it made for me. Hopefully i still have a queen in my queen right hive!!!

[@anandbasdeo4753]

I look at your vids and I learn alot but I don't understand why you don't get stung. I am from the Caribbean and if I tried doing anything with my bees without being fully suited up and with a smoker I'd probably die. Our bees are super aggressive and even suited I usually get about a dozen stings each time I check on my colonies.

[@BKBees]

Anand Basdeo That's nuts. We have some hives that won't let me work them like that but for the most part we have some pretty gentle bees.

[@anandbasdeo4753]

B&K Bees most of the bees here in Trinidad are Africanised. We are entering the rainy season so you need to supplement feed, so today I was doing that and like you I am bearded and those bees followed me for about 20 minutes on my walk home constantly attacking at my face. Lol I watch your vids and think it'll be great to have easy going bees like you guys.

[@vernahelvik8678]

Good info thanks

[@bandiengdoh1157]

I have a laying worker hive but I have been introduced a queen and they accepted it, but the laying worker still continue laying egg in the cell.So what I will correct it

[@BKBees]

The queen will eventually override the laying worker instinct. You've gotten over the biggest hurdle. Just give it time.

[@bandiengdoh1157]

Thanks u so much Sir for your respond

[@corneliualdea5385]

Hi how about if you shake the laying worker out and then afther put a frame a milk brood or two and a matted Queen .

[@BKBees]

The chances of that working are low. If you catch them early enough, a frame of brood and a mated queen work fine, but if it's an advanced problem, you'll be wasting your brood and your queen.

[@kellymcentire4834]

Can you define what milk brood is?

[@BKBees]

Kelly McEntire open young brood floating in royal jelly.

[@strive4impact]

What is open milk brood?

[@BKBees]

Young worker larvae. Basically brood frames that aren't capped.