Biggest bee mystery?

[Sutty]

Lots of previous mysteries about bees have been worked out by the likes of Lindauer and Seeley, but there are many left. What amazes you the most?

Here's one:
When they are in swarming mode and the queen has left with the swarm (or with the beekeeper!), how on earth do they tell when they only have one queen cell left? Eg 2 separated cells amongst 1000s of bees in the dark - how can they tell?!

What's your favourite mystery?

 

[Newbeeneil]

Lots of previous mysteries about bees have been worked out by the likes of Lindauer and Seeley, but there are many left. What amazes you the most?

Here's one:
When they are in swarming mode and the queen has left with the swarm (or with the beekeeper!), how on earth do they tell when they only have one queen cell left? Eg 2 separated cells amongst 1000s of bees in the dark - how can they tell?!

What's your favourite mystery?

How virgin queens find DCA’s

 

[Erichalfbee]

How virgin queens find DCA’s

It doesn't really tell you but this was a fascinating talk by Gudran Koeniger . Can't believe it was nine years ago

 

[The Poot]

Lots of previous mysteries about bees have been worked out by the likes of Lindauer and Seeley, but there are many left. What amazes you the most?

Here's one:
When they are in swarming mode and the queen has left with the swarm (or with the beekeeper!), how on earth do they tell when they only have one queen cell left? Eg 2 separated cells amongst 1000s of bees in the dark - how can they tell?!

What's your favourite mystery?

I’ve often puzzled over that too.
Also, does the colony “consider” itself queen+ when there’s no queen, but a single queen cell? If so, what’s the mechanism?
(I have a double brooder, very populous colony, cut down to one queen cell, as calm as it ever has been).

 

[jarmo henttu]

Lots of previous mysteries about bees have been worked out by the likes of Lindauer and Seeley, but there are many left. What amazes you the most?

Here's one:
When they are in swarming mode and the queen has left with the swarm (or with the beekeeper!), how on earth do they tell when they only have one queen cell left? Eg 2 separated cells amongst 1000s of bees in the dark - how can they tell?!

What's your favourite mystery?

They play with odors. I do not believe that they are able to count they virgins or queen cell. Do they have math at all.

If you cut off too many queen cells, bees grow more.

After 60 y experince I can only say that beekeepers have skill to invent all kind of explantions the things which do not even exist.

The most famous mystery was 25 years ago that Europe is the original home to the honeybee. Then they mapped the bee's DNA.

The British beekeepers still insist that they have "original native bees".

The Spanish too indist they have original native bres, which have managed over Ice Ages in " shallow valleys". Even if mitocondrias of Spannish bees belongs to the same hablogroup with Southern Africa's Apis scutellata.

 

[Just Steve]

When a colony swarms why does it bivouac up prior to moving on to their new home? The scouts have already selected several sites. Why not go straight to the one they prefere? By bivouacing they put themselves in danger of exposure due to weather conditions or open to predators eating them.

 

[Sutty]

When a colony swarms why does it bivouac up prior to moving on to their new home? The scouts have already selected several sites. Why not go straight to the one they prefere? By bivouacing they put themselves in danger of exposure due to weather conditions or open to predators eating them.

Very occasionally they do go straight there, which compounds the mystery.
Maybe being away from the parent hive stops the scouts' dances being confused by foragers' dances.

 

[jarmo henttu]

When a colony swarms why does it bivouac up prior to moving on to their new home? The scouts have already selected several sites. Why not go straight to the one they prefere? By bivouacing they put themselves in danger of exposure due to weather conditions or open to predators eating the

Somebody should tell them.
..

 

[jarmo henttu]

Lots of previous mysteries about bees have been worked out by the likes of Lindauer and Seeley, but there are many left. What amazes you the most?

Here's one:
When they are in swarming mode and the queen has left with the swarm (or with the beekeeper!), how on earth do they tell when they only have one queen cell left? Eg 2 separated cells amongst 1000s of bees in the dark - how can they tell?!

What's your favourite mystery?

Why I have explained 3 times inside one week, how many days a new queen takes to mate and start laying?

 

[Dodge]

Let's honest, for a PHD student looking for a thesis Apiculture has quite a few openings.

 

[jarmo henttu]

Let's honest, for a PHD student looking for a thesis Apiculture has quite a few openings.

That question is a mystery to me.

 

[pargyle]

The biggest beekeeping mystery of all .... how old is our Finnish member ? He must have started keeping bees when he was still in short trousers !

 

[jarmo henttu]

The biggest beekeeping mystery of all .... how old is our Finnish member ? He must have started keeping bees when he was still in short trousers !

In pants

 

[Sutty]

However old he is I hope I can keep bees at that age!

 

[jarmo henttu]

However old he is I hope I can keep bees at that age!

I cannot help that how my parents started me.

When in England people become old, they start to dig sleletons from their gardens.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

When they are in swarming mode and the queen has left with the swarm (or with the beekeeper!), how on earth do they tell when they only have one queen cell left?

why would they need to? the remaining bees will carry on making emergency QC's until they run out of material, sometimes they will stop throwing casts out after a while and just leave the remaining QC's sort themselves out, other times they will just cast themselves to extinction.

 

[Erichalfbee]

the remaining bees will carry on making emergency QC's until they run out of material

But do they?
I have had colonies where I have nuc'd the queen for swarm control make thirty emergency cells with others making just a few. I often wondered about this. Dave Cushman (the real man) has this to say
Peak Queen Cell Number

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But do they?

I didn't say in all instances.

 

[jarmo henttu]

why would they need to? the remaining bees will carry on making emergency QC's until they run out of material, sometimes they will stop throwing casts out after a while and just leave the remaining QC's sort themselves out, other times they will just cast themselves to extinction.

Bees have clear system, how they swarm. Nothing mystery in it.

But one is special thing. A hive produces 200 % more new hives and itself remains alive. However number of bee colonies remain almost the same. The losses in nature is huge.

 

[Paulypaul]

1. How long do winter bees REALLY live for? Often wondered what % of the colony in the summer are actually still winter bees.
2. What is Washboarding, really? I suspect it's bored bees. But there must be more to it.
3. Why are Maisemore poly nuc brood boxes the most expensive piece of poly nuc equipment they sell, despite it being a very unsophisticated molded block of polystyrene? - even more expensive than a sophisticated 11-frame Abelo deep box, with all the trimmings.
   • Is it because they have a monopoly on poly nuc brood boxes, whereas all their other poly nuc parts have competitors? - asking for a friend.