Author Topic: Maiden Flight?  (Read 1662 times)

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Offline Rugerbob

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Maiden Flight?
« on: June 20, 2018, 05:45:56 pm »
Found a queen with about twenty attendants six feet from the bee hives around 5pm. I'm I correct in assuming she was about to make or returning from her maiden flight?

Offline apisbees

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2018, 03:50:45 am »
More information please, what are the conditions or circumstances in the hive, Just swarmed, superseded, Just re-queened? what is happening in the hive?
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2018, 08:42:12 am »
I am curious, what did you do with her after you found her?  Was she small? That's something you don't see every day.

Offline Jen

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2018, 12:51:10 pm »
Agree Baker, I've seen queens right on top of a hive, and on the front porch, but not that far away. Wondering too, if the bees were simply milling around her or were they in a ball on top of her?
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Offline Rugerbob

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2018, 05:19:59 pm »
The hive I believe she came from swarmed earlier, there were several swarm cell that I removed and started nucs with except for two. She was a nice looking queen but her abdomen looked skinny. The attendants were just encircling the queen not mobbing her, the sun had just gone around the corner and she appeared a little sluggish. The hive I suspect she came from had bees fanning at the entrance, I scooped her up and placed her the landing board and she hurried in and more bees came out and started fanning.   

Offline apisbees

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2018, 10:52:06 pm »
Swarmed out and could not fly and keep up with the swarm and was lost to the bees so the returned to the hive or joined another swarm. if another swarm was out at the same time. With so few bees with the queen the bees with her would not be able to fan enough nasonov gland sent to attract the bees to where the queen fell.
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Offline Lburou

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2018, 11:00:24 pm »
In windy conditions a queen sometimes stops short of their hive returning from their mating flight to gather strength, then completes the flight back to their hive.  That is one possible explanation for a queen with retinue near a bee hive.  :)
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Offline efmesch

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2018, 12:31:54 pm »
Swarmed out and could not fly and keep up with the swarm and was lost to the bees so the returned to the hive or joined another swarm. if another swarm was out at the same time. With so few bees with the queen the bees with her would not be able to fan enough nasonov gland sent to attract the bees to where the queen fell.
Sounds like you did the right thing---the fanning you report might be the bees there saying "Thank you".   If you had put her in a hive with a queen of its' own, the response would most likely have been to see them chase her out.

Offline Lburou

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Re: Maiden Flight?
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2018, 12:05:03 pm »
...If you had put her in a hive with a queen of its' own, the response would most likely have been to see them chase her out.
A couple years ago I observed a queen with about twenty worker bees on the ground near my queen castles.  I (wrongly) put her at the entrance of the castle segment I thought she was from.  The next day I found her in another segment of the same queen castle without harm.

I was amazed that she made it back to her own bees after my mistake in putting her at the entrance of the wrong bee colony!    :)
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