guard bees

[the beehive lodge]

is me right in thinking that house bees are guard bees before they are forage bees or is it the onther way round

 

[MuswellMetro]

that's what i've been told on here but my old mentor in the 1990's told me they where old bees that the hive could sacrifice

so open for discussion, and we should both learn something

when i have changed queens it has taken 6 wks for the guard bees to get tamer

 

[Hivemaker.]

when i have changed queens it has taken 6 wks for the guard bees to get tamer

Almost self explanatory then.

 

[JamesB]

I think the last job they do is forage (wing bees my dad calls them)

 

[Cazza]

is me right in thinking that house bees are guard bees before they are forage bees or is it the onther way round

According to Kim Flottum the hierarchy goes:
cleaner
cell polisher
nurse bee
queen attendant
nectar collector
guard bee
forager
Somewhere in there is wax maker.
I fancy being cell polisher, you could stand back and admire your handiwork.
Cazza

 

[victor meldrew]

18 days is the quoted age of a bee when she becomes a guard !
This is when her venom is of optimum potency , so the story goes and we all know that beekeeping books can be taken as gospel don't we ?

John Wilkinson

 

[Cazza]

18 days is the quoted age of a bee when she becomes a guard !
This is when her venom is of optimum potency , so the story goes and we all know that beekeeping books can be taken as gospel don't we ?

John Wilkinson

I believe everything I read as I am very gullible.

There is an interesting age distribution chart in "The illustrated encyclopaedia of beekeeping" (Ed Morse and Hooper") which shows guard bees mainly from 8-24 days so now who do I believe!
Cazza