The role of the queen in wax secretion and comb building was studied in the the Cape honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis (Escholtz). The percentage of bees bearing wax and the amount of wax borne by these bees did not differ between the experiments. This meant that the queenless and queenright colonies had the potential to construct equal amounts of comb as the amounts of wax available for comb building was the same. Contrary to this prediction, queenright colonies constructed 8 times more comb than their queenless counterparts. Queenright Apis mellifera scutellata colonies constructed 4 times more comb than their queenless counterparts. The increased amount of 9-oxo-2-decanoic acid (90DA) in the A.m.capensis mandibular gland secretions could not alone account for this difference. In fact, A.m.capensis and A.m.scutellata colonies constructed similar amounts of comb when they were given their own queens or queens from the other race. Worker bees need to have direct contact with their queen for comb building to be enhanced. Even when the queen had her mandibular glands extirpated and tergite glands occluded large amounts of comb were constructed than when access to the queen was limited. Direct access to the head of a mated queen proved to be the stimulus enhancing comb building. No comb was constructed when the workers had access to the abdomen of the queen. Virgin queens did not stimulate comb building. The relatively large amounts of 90DA and 9HDA from the mandibular glands of Cape virgin queens had not influenced comb building. Worker sized cells were generally constructed. These cells were slightly smaller than those constructed by European honeybees, but were indicative of African bees. A few queen less colonies constructed cells that were of an intermediate drone and worker size. Four mandibular gland pneromones were measured by gas chromatography. No correlations between these pheromones and the comb construction measurements were found. It is unlikely that the mandibular gland pheromones are the only pheromones that stimulate comb building. Pheromones from other glands on the head may contribute towards the enhancement of comb building, and they are not present in virgin queens

In a honeybee colony, the loss of a queen is considered to be a serious occurrence and, if a new queen is not produced, ultimately doomed. However, in colonies of Apis mellifera capensis (Cape honeybees), numerous pathways are available for a colony which unexpectedly losses a queen. At the onset of this experiment, four colonies of A. m. capensis were dequeened. Following this photographs of all brood frames in each colony were taken and the contents of the cells analysed. Cells were chosen at random but once selected were repeatedly analysed for the duration of the experiment. The contents of a total of 44 888 individual cells were analysed. Any queen cells constructed during the sampling period were removed, maintaining a queenless state. In each colony, as predicted, the removal of the queen evoked a variety of responses in an attempt to rectify the sudden loss. However, ultimately three of the four colonies absconded, leaving little by way of stores. Three of the four colonies initially attempted to rear a new queen while one colony was immediately invaded by a presumed foreign queen and hence any attempt at queen cell construction ceased. An increased number of queen cells in the swarm position were recorded in all colonies. The invasion of a colony by a foreign queen was considered to be a new pathway available for queenless colonies of A.m capensis. Worker policing and suspected brood cannibalism was prevalent in all sampled colonies yet in addition, the transfer of eggs and larvae from cell to cell was also observed which may have increased the suspected cases of policing and cannibalism. It was unclear whether an egg or larva had been consumed or simply moved to another cell on the brood frame. All colonies contained eggs from laying workers to varying degrees, based on the length of each individual sampling period which varied between colonies due to differences in absconding dates. A steady breakdown in the effectiveness of the division of labour amongst the worker bees was observed in each of the colonies highlighting the vital role of a queen. This breakdown was clearly seen in the reduction in general housekeeping within a colony. An increase in stores indicated a possible increase in the number of forager bees, thereby reducing the number of worker bees available for other duties. Pathways available to broodright colonies and strategies used following sudden queen loss are discussed.