I'll pay for clumsiness

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Deux Ruches

New Bee
Joined
May 11, 2009
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
Location
Saumur, The Loire Valley France
Hive Type
Dadant
Number of Hives
2
I hope other newbies can learn from my stupid mistake.
I've just come in from carrying out a second full inspection of my hives, where I was over eager and damaged a Queen.
It's 20c plus here the cherry and peach are in full blossom and ideal for a good inspection. Both hives have continued to expand at speed over the last month or so, and there are 6/8 frames of brood in all stages, and good stores. I had not seen the queen in no1 hive for a year. (She's a new queen following brood frames being introduced after a swarm over last Easter when I was away)
I never could find her, but I wasn't bothered as the hive developed well, it went on to produce nearly 20kg of honey.
I saw her on the first inspection but was not prepared, as I've never marked a queen before. When manipulating her into the tube I think I trapped her front legs. When I replaced her on the frame she did not move and was imediately surrounded by workers. I closed up the hive and was nearly sick. I feel really stupid, I haven't felt like this, since I was dumped as a teanager. "I hasten to add, that I wasn't dumped by a Queen."
As usual I'll let those who know best sort it out. The Bees.
PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE. I hope my sad tale stops others being so careless.
Nick.
 
Did you place her back onto a frame that had open brood/eggs in it ?
Thats were the bees expect to find her,if she is on a food comb they get alerted that something is wrong.
Some queens play dead when marked they can go into a catatonic state,I had one last year do just that,I thought I had killed her as she rolled dead like back into the hive,only to find eggs a week later and HM walking around the combs with a big green dot on her.

Leave it a week and check for eggs,I think she has a good chance of being ok.
Yes she does need a good leg for measuring the cell size but queens manage to carry on without being superceded with a leg missing.

Also I have often found that the bees will look like they are trying to ball her until the paint dries,they get a sniff of pheremone and leave her after a few minutes.

Maybe it is a good idea to put a newly marked queen into a queen cage for half an hour after marking until the paint fumes go?
 
Thanks for the encouragement admin. Yes she did go back onto brood comb, she also played dead when in the marking tube. I'll of course leave them alone for a week, and just hope.
Thanks Nick.
n.b. Is it possible to have Dadant included in the hive type for members info?
 
RD, I bet you feel sick to the teath I know I did, I damaged a queen very late last year, I dropped her and she had a slight limp but seemed to settle down (all in early Sept) - checked a day or so later and she had been killed off - I was guttered and very angy with myself over that one.

Interesting how ppl are in a rush (having said that you are in a warmer climate) to get into the hives on the forums, other than food levels I simply dont see a need as you cant do very much at the moment.

Snowing again and best just to leave alone I think.

As ADMIN says await and see, if lost you are at least the right side of the season 'just', I was at the wrong end - by the time any emergency queen appears there should be some drones around.

JD
 
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