piping

[Hivemaker.]

If they pipe they go is the old saying,how many others have found this to be true.

 

[grizzly]

How audible is this Piping ? so far i have only heard humming at varying levels from my bees, has anyone ever recorded it ??

 

[Hivemaker.]

Very audible,you can hear it from outside the hive,like peep-peep,sound.

 

[BKF Admin]

Have a listen to the file in the link.

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=125

 

[grizzly]

Thats amazing, what a lovely sound, however arent Bees deaf ? i suppose she is vibrating in order to communicate ?

And do they all make that noise or just the Queen ?

 

[BKF Admin]

I think it must be vibration like the waggle dance.

Although deaf cant they pick up vibrations on the end of the antenna?

Glad you liked my little clip.

 

[Polyanwood]

Do you think the piping is like a battle cry then... from one queen to another in the same colony... saying I'm here too so that one will go with a swarm??

Do they only pipe if there is another queen around? Do you reckon that it is the piping queen that goes?

Is it your experience that if you hear piping then you end up with one queen or do you end up queenless?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes they pipe to locate one another,even the virgins still in the cells pipe.Mated queens also pipe in certain situations.I have found if they pipe they tend to swarm,even taken virgins that are piping and put them in small mating nuc,and had them swarm.

 

[Polyanwood]

So what is your theory about the purpose of piping then (in evolutionary terms)?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Survival of the fittest i suppose.among virgins.

 

[Bcrazy]

It must be great to hear the roar of the hive when inspecting. As for 'piping' I have never heard that either.

By now you should have guessed that I am deaf. Although I wear hearing aids I still can not hear the bees until they are right next to my right ear, then its only a faint buzzing.

Whilst inspecting a colony I try to stand at the side of the hive so I can see the entrance, as this will give me an indication of what the little darlings are up to.

I suppose there must bee other hard of hearing beeks.

Regards; Bcrazy

 

[BKF Admin]

I may be wrong but I would say being deaf could give you the edge in beekeeping as you have learned to use your other senses more?

Can you hear the audio I put up Bcrazy?

I can redo a really loud version to send you if you want.

 

[Bcrazy]

Hi Admin,

Thank you for that kind offer but I can assure you I doubt very much if I would be able to hear it. Thanks all the same.

Regards; Bcrazy

 

[BKF Admin]

Your very welcome.

 

[Finman]

So what is your theory about the purpose of piping then (in evolutionary terms)?

When colony waits for swarming, virgin queens stay in their cells untill old swarm has left the hive. New queen may be 10-15 and ready to fly.
If new queen merely emerge, it is soft, light color and cannot fly. It takes 1-2 days before it is hard enough to fly.

When swarm leave and you open the hive, you heard piping. Some queen have come out. Many are still in their cells. You may catch about 10 ready queens from hive. You heard when they walk quickly on combs and piip.

When you put a new queen into a new hive. often queen start to pipe. It put her storax against comb and give a lor sound. Probably it calls another queens to fight.

If colony does not swarm, first emerged queen is in a hurry to mark other queen cells and workers destroy cells.

Meaning of piping to me? - Nothing, because I am not listening them when they are making their play. Mysterious - no, not to me. I swear often to my hives and perhaps they think that I am piping.

*********

Actually bees make many kind of sounds but researchers have not revieled out, what is meaning of sound communication.

 

[Finman]

.
There is worker piping too in hives when you open it. Our researcher wrote that their duty is to calm down colony that "no harm, take it easy".

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes i have also heard workers making pipping noise.When i have virgins piping,i remove them. Put in a new mated queen is best.

 

[Bcrazy]

Hi Hivemaker

[QUOTE When i have virgins piping,i remove them. Put in a new mated queen is best. ][/QUOTE]

Are you saying that when making up a Nuc or full Colony and inserting a queen, if the queen (virgin) starts to pipe then you remove her? If so why?
Surely your not giving that queen a chance of mating and heading a colony.
IMO piping does not mean there is anything wrong.
Looking forward to your reason, as you have had experience of this.

Regards; Bcrazy

 

[Finman]

.
IMO piping does not mean there is anything wrong.
:

Queen just calls her sisters to fight for life. Nothing more.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes,from my experiance of these queens,they tend to come from the more swarmy hives,which i am trying to reduce,Most of these hives seem to have lots of queen cells.If i leave them in a large hive,they more often than not swarm,with a bigger swarm than would have gone with the old queen.Even putting them in a nuc,they will often swarm,like a small cast.I don't know the reason why,just what i have found in my experiance to be true.In hives that tend to produce less cells,i have not noticed so much of this piping,but that does not mean it does not happen, but it is certainly less.