Exhausted Queen back from mating flight?

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buzz lightyear

House Bee
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
196
Reaction score
2
Location
North Notts uk
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
18
So, I put a mini nuc in the garden a few days ago, with capped Q cell. Today found her on the floor a few feet away surrounded by her courteyers. Popped her back into the mini. Lets see if she had done the neccessary?
Worth remembering to make mating nucs enterances easy to get to for poor flying queens, otherwise they might not get back.
Hope pics upload ok.
1st of her on the floor
2nd i think you can just make her out going into nuc
3rd bees fanning enterance
Buzz
 
I dont want to ignite a massive debate on this thread :reddevil: but its good to see you are taking your protection seriously with those gloves. :rofl:
 
I can't see any queen in the pictures but you raise an interesting point. I've just put some mini-nucs and mini-hives (6 frame Mini-Plus) out and some have a bit of a landing board provided by the wooden base they are sitting on but others are on blocks and in the case of the mini-hives the entrance is more of an overhang so no real landing board at all.

I think there is a need to balance an easy entrance with an entrance the bees can defend and which perhaps needs to be more hidden, like the one the mini-hives have.
 
The pics are not the best, I'll see if any of the others are any better. Re the gloves: I had a mind on posting on the forum, so thought best for the pic.
That said, I've had more stings when looking at my apiary than when manipulating, etc. But I take your point.
 
once you are sure you have a mated laying queen in the Apidea, put the queen excluder entrance fixture in place with a drawing pin as it prevents the queen absconding or even swarming which can happen with such a small hive !

S
 
That advice makes me anxious Somerford. How do you know she is fully mated? She may need to go out again????
 
She may need to go out again????

She may indeed,but if the queen is mated and laying properly as Somerford states, then it will only be when they swarm.
 
You know she is mated and won't fly again when she starts laying eggs. At that point she can be confined. They shouldn't abscond or swarm before then although it can happen if the beekeeper put too many bees in the mini-nuc.
 
I can't see any queen in the pictures

I thought it was just me, cant see her either - also not sure those glove are designed for handling queens.
 
There is no need to interfere with them that often.

Patience.

If they are stocked with food they should have enough for two to three weeks.

I used to set them out in Ross-Shire, 120 miles from my home and leave them for two weeks plus while I did a trip offshore. They were fine.

Dinna fuss over them they will mate in good time and if they have gone they have gone and if they are a bonny wee colony that is what you will find.

PH
 
Thanks for that tip polyhive. I wasn't sure how long the comb honey container with fondant was going to last.
I defintely want to avoid disturbing them if at all possible
 
can I just say I am discussing MY mini nucs which may well be a bit larger than apidea ones. See the pics earlier in the thread. My food compartment holds (with out actually measuring) I would think two cut comb containers worth and I filled them with sugar and watered it until it was thoroughly damp.

I take no responsibility for the under feeding of any other variety up to and including my own. :)

PH
 
Polyhive
Your nucs probably contain twice as many bees as an apidea? This should mean that on average both food supplies should last the same?
 

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