Can anyone help funny thing happend

[ryan_220]

I have two hive from last year both come though the winter.
The one is weeker than the other due to me getting it late in the year from a friends garden in a composter "a swam".

Anyway the weeker hive altho going though rapid build up at the moment, i decided to paint/dot the queen on her back so i can see her easyer. Which i did and no problems a week latter

The second very strong hive i have had 14months or so doing some mantenance work on it "changeing a fue frames basicly" 3 frames as the other frames where cloged up from winter all done and fine.
Half way though i found the queen and noted where she was and now i came back to this frame and thought i will mark her as the other hive. So i dotted her on the back and as soon as I did that 7 bees or so started to attack her stinging her and dragged her down into the hive. Fue houre later there she was dead out side the hive.

Can anyone explane why they would turn on her just for me putting a small dot on her back ? Funny thing is there was a queen cell about to be capped built and lucky i havent taken it down or removed when i was changeing the frames

Just wondered if i was doing something wrong and someone could put me right ?

 

[Black Comb]

Best to leave until at least the paint is dry.
Did you hold the queen or trap her in a cage?

 

[ryan_220]

Best to leave until at least the paint is dry.
Did you hold the queen or trap her in a cage?

I held her and yes the paint was still tacky when i let her go looks like my bad on this i guess ?

 

[plumberman]

What sort of paint did you use?

 

[ryan_220]

Marking Paint that i got last year from one of the bee shops online acrylic type of paint i guess.

Maybe its time to get a cage and the pen type of markers.

 

[BKF Admin]

Did she go back onto a frame of brood ?

 

[Poly Hive]

I catch her walk away from the hive, clip her, mark her, take her back and smoke her and the hive, then let her back into the brood nest.

PH

 

[BKF Admin]

then let her back into the brood nest.
PH

That bit is very important Pete,when putting a marked queen back always put here on a brood frame as thats were the bees expect to find her,put her on a frame without brood and its possible the bees will attack her.

1/ she smells different(paint).
2/ she should not be on a comb without brood/eggs.
3/ Attack

 

[darrenperrett]

I tried a crown of thorns marking cage but couldnt get on with it as the rest of the bees on the frame kept running all over it trying to get to the Q. I prefer the plunger type now as i can take her away from the hive and put her somehere safe untill the paint dries.

I`d pick her up and do it but i`d probably drop her in the long grass and lose her

Darren

 

[VEG]

The crown of thorns works ok. When the queen is in there just keep blowing on it gently and all the bees move away, then mark her and keep gently blowing it dries the paint and keeps the other bees away.

 

[darrenperrett]

You`re right veg, that`d probably work.
Shame i didn`t think of it as i was covering half the workers in white paint as i was knocking them off with my marker pen

 

[Rosti]

i was covering half the workers in white paint

Now if that was a politician covering their tracks you'd have got ....

" I tactically cover a number of worker bees in white paint. These act as decoys and protect the queen until she has settled and the paint has fully dried"

 

[sherwood]

I find a handy trick is after you have daubed her with the marker to daub her with some honey the bees go for the honey having cleaned her of honey they are quite familiar with her pheramones and leave her alone I have not found this method to fail.

 

[ryan_220]

Did she go back onto a frame of brood ?

Yes but the worked bees dragged her down reguardless of me stoping then the just started again after i put her back on.

 

[ryan_220]

Thanks for all the help