Queen cell ?

[Rich V]

If a queen is failing. Does she know this,and still lays an egg in a queen cell? wouldn't this be like suicide. Or do the workers take an egg form another cell,and put it in the queen cell. I don't know just trying to think like a bee.

[thegolfpsycho]

No.. if they are going to superceded her, they convert the cell to a queen cell.. lavish royal jelly on the larvae, and make a queen

[Michael Bush]

>If a queen is failing. Does she know this,and still lays an egg in a queen cell? wouldn't this be like suicide. Or do the workers take an egg form another cell,and put it in the queen cell. I don't know just trying to think like a bee.

Queens lay eggs.  They don't "think" in terms of being usurped.  They "think" in terms of "I need to lay some drones" or "this looks like a good clean cell".

>No.. if they are going to superceded her, they convert the cell to a queen cell.. lavish royal jelly on the larvae, and make a queen

Sometimes.  But sometimes they make cups and the queen lays in them.  I've wathced them extensively in the observation hive and have seen them do it.

[Rich V]

So the egg is laid first ,then the cell is built around it. ok!

[Michael Bush]

>So the egg is laid first ,then the cell is built around it. ok!

Sometimes they take a worker cell and rework it into a queen cell.

Sometimes they build the cup and then the queen lays in it.

[Apis629]

Queens lay eggs. They don't "think" in terms of being usurped. They "think" in terms of "I need to lay some drones" or "this looks like a good clean cell".

It could just be that queens may be intelegent but lack the sensory organs with which to apply it.  They have the fewest intenal segments, smallest eyes and who knows what else.  Am I just having wishful thinking?