- Joined
- Sep 7, 2013
- Messages
- 304
- Reaction score
- 232
- Location
- Loughborough
- Hive Type
- 14x12
- Number of Hives
- 11
Hi all... Now, I am not an overly meddlesome beekeeper, and I usually get my timings etc... right, but yesterday, my intuition failed me, and a nuc I opened up to check if there was a new, laying Queen had no eggs/brood, but ......
.... hey ... there is/was a small, cute (presumably/possibly) virgin Queen (implying I was a little early in checking the box) wandering around the frame of polished cells. Great, until ...
... resolving to put the frame gently back in situ, she only went and bloody flew off !!!
I was that surprised (I've never had a Queen fly off the frame before), that I did not track her flight, but also did not happen to see her return to the box (either the top of the open nuc or the entrance).
Am I correct to think she will return (/will have returned) ? Or might I have spooked her and lost her ?
My trusty companion (my teenage son) asked me if there was a chance she had shot off on her mating flight, but I think I was right in saying that is extremely unlikely - especially as she appeared to leave unaccompanied.
Your advice / experience is sought, as I would like to know what may have occurred there.
Either way, there's not a lot I can do, so my plan is to leave well alone, and check back in in about 3 weeks time.
Cheers
Sent from my Google Pixelbook using Tapatalk
.... hey ... there is/was a small, cute (presumably/possibly) virgin Queen (implying I was a little early in checking the box) wandering around the frame of polished cells. Great, until ...
... resolving to put the frame gently back in situ, she only went and bloody flew off !!!
I was that surprised (I've never had a Queen fly off the frame before), that I did not track her flight, but also did not happen to see her return to the box (either the top of the open nuc or the entrance).
Am I correct to think she will return (/will have returned) ? Or might I have spooked her and lost her ?
My trusty companion (my teenage son) asked me if there was a chance she had shot off on her mating flight, but I think I was right in saying that is extremely unlikely - especially as she appeared to leave unaccompanied.
Your advice / experience is sought, as I would like to know what may have occurred there.
Either way, there's not a lot I can do, so my plan is to leave well alone, and check back in in about 3 weeks time.
Cheers
Sent from my Google Pixelbook using Tapatalk