The concept of “tinder” includes a bee colony, an individual insect, and an unfertilized queen. However, these terms are closely interrelated. The colony turns into a tinder if the tasks of the queen are performed by a tinder bee. In this case, an individual bee can appear in a family only if a full-fledged female has been lost. Correcting polypore bees can be done in a variety of ways.
Who are tinders?
If the queen in the colony dies, after some time the bees begin to feed on royal jelly.Since it contains hormones that induce oviposition, individual bees are degenerated.
An ordinary individual is an underdeveloped female that is not capable of laying eggs. However, insects stimulated with royal jelly develop ovipositors. Their number can reach 12.
In this case, the female that lays eggs does not have spermatozoa 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 collecting supplies and the subsequent survival of the family.
The existing population of working individuals will not be able to work for everyone. With the arrival of winter, such a colony will die of starvation. A colony without a queen, which includes a degenerate worker, is often called a tinder.
Sometimes a colony turns into a tinder even in the presence of a full-fledged female. This means that the queen is too old and cannot lay eggs normally. In any case, the appearance of drone seeding is considered a reason to study the colony.
What does it look like and how to identify it?
The tinder fungus can be found in the hive using the so-called humpback seeding. After this, you need to establish the reasons for its occurrence. The formation of such a family may be a consequence of the presence of an unfertilized uterus. The queen has a special appearance, and therefore it is not very difficult to find her.
You can get rid of tinder in a simpler way, without even identifying it. Moreover, there may be several such bees in the hive.The swarm needs to be collected, taken away and shaken out on the ground. The workers will return to the hive, but the polypores will get lost.
Reasons for formation
There are several factors in the formation of a tinder family. Sometimes a situation occurs when the queen begins to worm and lay exclusively unfertilized eggs, from which drones emerge. The following factors lead to this:
- the uterus was not fertilized - for example, due to unfavorable weather;
- the female has grown old;
- the queen has an insufficient amount of drone sperm;
- the drones did not fertilize the queen well;
- Insemination of the uterus was carried out incorrectly - in this case, sperm reserves run out earlier than required, and the uterus begins to lay unfertilized eggs.
The formation of a tinder family can also be caused by the disappearance of the uterus. The following factors lead to this:
- the queen flew out to mate with drones and got caught in the rain or was eaten by a bird;
- the queen was planted by the beekeeper, but the bees did not accept her and killed her;
- the bees were attacked by wasps and killed the queen;
- the hive was subject to bee theft, which led to the death of the queen.
How to fix a tinder family
To correct a tinder family, it is permissible to use different methods. A starvation diet, an isolation cell, and a basement are suitable for this purpose.
Starvation diet
To use this method, individuals from the tinder family need to be scared onto 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 the empty frame needs to be placed inside. At 9 o'clock after the insects return to the house, the entrances must be closed and the inhabitants of the hive left in captivity.
In the basement
In this case, in the evening, the insects need to be shaken off into a well-ventilated box and placed in the basement. After 2 days they need to be returned to the hive. There you need to place 3 empty frames, 2 frames with honey and a cage with a queen in advance.
In the isolation ward
An insulator must be installed in the center of the hive. It is recommended to place the queen bee in it and place a frame with food and brood. After all the bees have left the brood and the queen has completed sowing the entire frame, the insects need to be moved 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 simplest method
This method is only suitable for a weak family that occupies a maximum of 5 streets. In this case, you need to take the hive out of the apiary, shake out the bees, and then put it away. The insects will fly away and move in with other families.
How to prevent the problem?
To avoid such a problem, it is recommended to take timely measures:
- It is important to prevent the appearance of queenless colonies in the apiary. Replacement of queens must be carried out exclusively in a quiet shift.
- If there is a family without a uterus, it is necessary to monitor its exit from the queen cell on the 16th day. After 10 days, it is important to check whether she is fertile.
- In a queenless colony, you can install a frame once a week with a one-day seeding from another colony. This will prevent her from becoming a tinder.
- You can purchase special preparations in the store that emit the smell of the uterus and install them in queenless families.
Polymer bees are considered a serious problem that results in drones. As a result, the family becomes weaker and may die. To cope with this problem, it is permissible to use different methods.
