Bigger queens, better queens - part 2

I think I'm more excited by the potential created by the identification of the maternal effect in honey bees than anything beekeeping-related in the last decade.

Perhaps I need to get out more?

I first mentioned the maternal effect in a post titled 'Bigger queens, better queens - part 1'. I'm not going to rehash the science here. You should go back and read that post for the gory details scientific evidence. And - while you're at it - don't forget the prequel, which explains why bigger queens are better queens.

More research is needed, but the key observation is that queens lay bigger eggs in queen cups than they do in worker cells. These develop into bigger queens. Furthermore, these bigger queens 'perform' better in terms of brood production, and the trait appears to be inherited.

Bigger than what?

Bigger than queens reared from day-old grafted worker larvae.

So what?

Beginners and the grafting-averse

In a nutshell this means that beginners or beekeepers who cannot graft (lack of confidence, poor eyesight, unsteady hands etc.) should still be able to rear perfectly good queens.