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Joined
Jun 4, 2015
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Location
Co / Durham / Co Cleveland and Northumberland
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
17 nucs....
Dave has much more experience than me but i see a fault in this text i have copied from his many pages, how can mental genetically programed bees change with a new Queen pheromone.
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/index.php
I have done the experiment several times, where I have exchanged queens from good and bad tempered colonies. In most cases the temper follows the queen and within a couple of days the colony changes character
 
That is my experience too. A change of queen can and does dramatically change the temperament of a colony.

PH
 
It's all about how she smells. Doesn't have to wait for her brood to come through.
 
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Because the genetics of your mental bees might control how they respond to some stimuli....you for a start, but that response can be tempered by other things....ie the new queen's pheromones might have a limiting effect on their behaviour
 
So the smell of a new Queen will alter the genetics of angry worker bees that are still in the hive, this is getting confusing .. lol

Even the nicest people can become unpleasant if you give them the wrong thing to drink.
 
Bees will calm down within a few days of introducing a new queen.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
As I understand it, it's called Queen substance and once the Q is changed the workers calm down.
 
After the successful introduction of a new queen the colony behaviour may
1. Change within several days- Effect of queen pheromone
2. Take several weeks to change- Effect of old workers dying and new queen's workers emerging (one of mine took 6 weeks before it eventually calmed down)
3. Not change at all.
 
Just to add to Eyeman's excellent summary.

4. some effect immediately and more working in over the next several weeks
 
pheromone (noun):
1. a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an animal, especially a mammal or an insect, affecting the behaviour or physiology of others of its species.

So - a queen-change is not only about changing the genetics of the colony - it can also be about changing immediate behaviour.
LJ
 
pheromone (noun):
1. a chemical substance produced and released into the environment by an animal, especially a mammal or an insect, affecting the behaviour or physiology of others of its species.

So - a queen-change is not only about changing the genetics of the colony - it can also be about changing immediate behaviour.
LJ

:iagree:

One of the few swarms that I collected last season was like Valkyries from the underworld... sharp pointy teeth and 11 mm stingers!!!

Requeened with an open mated Native Cornish queen they calmed down immediately....... and even got on to produce a couple of supers of honey!

Yeghes da
 
You can always do a bit of dowsing and relocate the colonies on a couple of intersecting ley lines ...it makes a difference. Might find that the varroa levels go down and the honey production goes up too .... Tin Hat on ...
 
Well that's me told, :D , thanks everyone for the sensible comments.

:iagree:. That's another beekeeping myth biting the dust - certainly the hitherto advice I've seen is that defensive behaviour is genetic and needs a few weeks to change after a queen change. The new queen's pheromones change behaviour - who'd have thought it?

CVB
 
:iagree:. That's another beekeeping myth biting the dust - certainly the hitherto advice I've seen is that defensive behaviour is genetic and needs a few weeks to change after a queen change. The new queen's pheromones change behaviour - who'd have thought it?

CVB
I still can not 100% believe it but i have not had the experience of introducing new queens yet, once i see the behavior change instantly with my own eyes i will then 100% believe it.
 
You can always do a bit of dowsing and relocate the colonies on a couple of intersecting ley lines ...it makes a difference. Might find that the varroa levels go down and the honey production goes up too .... Tin Hat on ...

I thought that would go without saying... but as not everyone can have it in them to make a good beekeeper... not everyone has the gift for dowsing.

Nos da
 
.. not everyone has the gift for dowsing.

Yes indeed... A shame one of the major proponents requires a magnet to find their hive tool.....now before you throw a hissy fit I'm just yanking your chain in jest.
Addis_v18n2.gif
 
It's my belief that a colony can change from a calm one to an aggressive one over a season if the queen has mated with a drone or drones from aggressive colonies and she then fertilizes her eggs with their sperm.
Likewise it can occur the other way around.
 

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