Worldwide Beekeeping

Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Bakersdozen on December 01, 2019, 09:35:11 am

Title: Fanning: Rear ends up or rear ends down
Post by: Bakersdozen on December 01, 2019, 09:35:11 am

Does anyone know the difference?  What does it mean when honey bees are fanning with rear ends up? Fanning pheromones?  What does it mean when honey bees fan with their rear ends down?

Title: Re: Fanning: Rear ends up or rear ends down
Post by: iddee on December 01, 2019, 10:24:48 am

Temp control.

Title: Re: Fanning: Rear ends up or rear ends down
Post by: Jen on December 01, 2019, 11:57:24 am

I think what Iddee said. That was my first pre coffee thought. I'm thinking that when I see bees with their fanny's up, that they have turned the up air conditioner. I also learned recently that the bees fan when they are trying to locate the queens pheromone, say I lifted her from the hive temporarily, or making a split. Or maybe it's the other way around? 

Title: Re: Fanning: Rear ends up or rear ends down
Post by: Mikey N.C. on December 03, 2019, 07:31:15 pm

In the cold months ,evap. In spring q smell.
That's my guess

Title: Re: Fanning: Rear ends up or rear ends down
Post by: MudSongs on January 14, 2020, 01:48:30 pm

Butts in the air usually means scenting.  They'll do this after a disturbance (e.g. hive inspection), when the bees need to find their way back in to the hive.  They'll crack the last segment of their abdomens (and if you look closely, you can see how the last segment doesn't line up with the rest of the abdomen), stick their butts in the air and waft the Nasonov pheromone into the air to tell foraging bees this is the way home.  This is scenting:

https://mudsongs.org/honey-bees-scenting/

When they're fanning for temperature regulation, etc., they'll hold tight to the ground, bend their bodies inward and beats their wings like crazy, and they'll often line up behind each other while they're doing it.

Sometimes the bees will fan and scent, butts up and down.

I saw a documentary series on Netflix, The Life of Bees, something like that, where they describe honey bees fanning, and as far as I know, they get it backwards.

Title: Re: Fanning: Rear ends up or rear ends down
Post by: Bakersdozen on January 14, 2020, 04:28:33 pm

Great pictures, Mudsong!  When I get a few minutes, I will read your blog.

This is what I believe to be true after doing a little more reading:
1.Rear ends up in the air is fanning Nasanov phermones.
url=https://ibb.co/8DnFv2Y](https://i.ibb.co/8DnFv2Y/Honey-bee-fanning.jpg)[/url]

2. Horizontal fanning is cooling the hive and reducing the moisture content of honey.


(https://i.ibb.co/VNDW83t/Honey-fanners.jpg) (https://ibb.co/VNDW83t)

3. Rear ends tucked down and heads up and alert is defensive.  Just picture A in this last group of pictures.

(https://i.ibb.co/F8Mypqp/Honey-bee-defensive-behavior.gif) (https://ibb.co/F8Mypqp)

I have read a lot of information regarding this on the internet.  Wow!  There is a lot of contradictions out there!