balling a queen

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karen
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balling a queen

Unread post by karen »

Yesterday I was caging queens from the last of my breeding boxes and found bees balling a small queen. I had already gone through the box and caged up the queen. I had left her in the box to remove today when I combine the box with others. I was walking past after doing several other boxes and noticed a ball of bees at the entrance. I picked apart the ball and found this little queen in there. Was it an usurpation or was she lost? I am not sure but they were not letting her in. I know she wasn't from that box because it is a three frame box and there where no empty queen cells that she could of come from. She was small and would not make a very good queen so I dropped her in a bottle of alcohol. I didn’t want the chance that she may be successful in another hive.
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Allen Dick
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Re: balling a queen

Unread post by Allen Dick »

Queens returning from mating flights sometimes lose their way.

Also there are many, many other things that queens do that we really don't understand, and because these events are unique and not something we can reproduce on command or by simply reproducing circumstances, they are not something that science can examine very well.

Beekeepers observe these unique events and sometimes have some understanding, but just as often are mystified.

These are the things that make beekeeping really interesting.
Allen Dick, RR#1 Swalwell, Alberta, Canada T0M 1Y0
51° 33'39.64"N 113°18'52.45"W
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/Allen%27s%20Beehives.kmz
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