Have they killed queen?

[beesleybees]

Hi guys,

Put a queen cell in a mating apideas just as a backup when doing a AS. she mated and began to lay eggs. I took the opportunity to mark her last week. Checked on her today and she is nowhere to be seen.

When I marked her, instead of running her in from the top of the apidea like I normally do, I marched her in through the entrance!! Could this have made the guard bees react to her?

Surely they would no that she is their queen

 

[enrico]

If she isn't there now then they didn't like something, could have been her coming in smelling of marker!
But......is she there? Bet you just didn't see her! Eggs?
E

 

[beesleybees]

If she isn't there now then they didn't like something, could have been her coming in smelling of marker!
But......is she there? Bet you just didn't see her! Eggs?
E

No eggs either

Your answer seems plausible that maybe the smell of tipped masked her smell. Would she be outside near the apidea if they have killed her

 

[enrico]

Probably, sure she didn't run underneath? Just seems a bit odd.
E

 

[beesleybees]

If she isn't there now then they didn't like something, could have been her coming in smelling of marker!
But......is she there? Bet you just didn't see her! Eggs?
E

Probably, sure she didn't run underneath? Just seems a bit odd.
E

No mate, seen her walk straight into the entrance and then swiftly left them too it. Gutted but another lesson learned

 

[oliver90owner]

There lies an important point. Are you trying to impose your will on the the bees, because if you are, forget it. You can steer the bees in the direction you want but you can not force them to comply.

Simple as that. The bees are ultimately in control, not you. Learn that rule.

 

[Tom Bick]

Did it seem as though there was the same amount of bees in the apidea as they are known to abscond and the bit of plastic queen excluder is often pinned over the entrance once the queen is laying. I dont know if the queen would leave with half of the bees and leave half behind but just a thought.

 

[galileo]

There lies an important point. Are you trying to impose your will on the the bees, because if you are, forget it. You can steer the bees in the direction you want but you can not force them to comply.

Simple as that. The bees are ultimately in control, not you. Learn that rule.

Sage words!

As beekeepers, we do not keep bees, bees keep us!

 

[REDWOOD]

I can understand why they rejected her, a queen coming in from the front door looking and smelling different

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Bees usually abscond from mini-nucs leaving almost no bees at all.

 

[beesleybees]

Bees usually abscond from mini-nucs leaving almost no bees at all.

There was less bees in the mating nuc so maybe that's what they have done. One thing I don't get is what happened to the eggs! She definitely laid some but there's nothing in the nuc now, not even larvae